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today i used google ngram to see how frequently the word “retirement” was published in english language books over the last 200 years.
my initial hypothesis was that the word would look like a M2 money supply chart, rising in a super linear curve right up until the present.
i was surprised to see it look like this instead:
why do you think the curve is shaped this way?
"Google Books" does not index self-published books.
Established publishers are unlikely to accept a proposal for a self-help or personal finance book unless the author is already famous.
This could explain the rapid decline in this chart since A.D. 2000 as self-publishing has become more feasible/preferred in the internet age.
If you search "finance", "portfolio", or "stock" the chart also takes a nosedive after 2000 AD. There is no shortage of finance books in the age of RobinHood. They just aren't distributed by publishing houses anymore.
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interesting!
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People began to lose their hope of retiring.
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People don't talk about what no longer exists...
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