I remember the first time I played The Thing: Remastered and realized how its flawed trust mechanics perfectly mirror certain investment behaviors I've observed throughout my career. Just as the game fails to incentivize genuine team cooperation, many investors fall into similar traps when chasing modern-day gold rushes like cryptocurrency or tech stocks. The parallels between this seemingly unrelated video game and economic history struck me as remarkably insightful.
When I analyze the original California Gold Rush of 1848-1855, what fascinates me isn't just the 300,000 prospectors who flocked to California, but how their collective behavior established patterns we still see today. Much like how The Thing's characters transform predictably regardless of player actions, market transformations often follow inevitable cycles that many investors ignore. I've watched countless clients make the same mistake the game encourages - focusing solely on individual survival rather than building sustainable systems. The gold rush wasn't really about individuals striking rich; the real wealth went to those who built infrastructure and support systems. Levi Strauss didn't mine gold - he sold durable pants to miners and built an empire worth what would be $6 billion today.
What The Thing gets wrong about trust dynamics reveals something crucial about investment psychology. In the game, there are no real consequences for trusting teammates, much like how during the dot-com bubble, investors threw money at any company with ".com" in its name without proper due diligence. I've noticed this pattern repeating in my 15 years as a financial advisor - when markets get hot, people abandon fundamental principles. They treat investments like The Thing's disposable characters, forgetting that real wealth building requires maintaining relationships and systems through market cycles. The game's gradual descent into a generic shooter mirrors how complex economic opportunities often devolve into simplistic speculation.
The most successful investors I've worked with understand what the gold rush teaches us - that true opportunity lies in serving the rush rather than joining the madness. During the 2021 crypto boom, while everyone was obsessed with Bitcoin's price, the smartest move was investing in crypto infrastructure companies. This echoes how the majority of gold rush fortunes were made by people selling shovels, tents, and transportation. About 90% of individual cryptocurrency traders lose money, yet the exchanges and wallet providers generated consistent revenue regardless of price fluctuations.
What both The Thing and economic history demonstrate is that systems matter more than individual plays. The game fails because it doesn't create meaningful interdependence, just as many investment strategies fail because they focus on isolated transactions rather than building robust portfolios. When I structure client investments, I always emphasize that we're building economic relationships, not just picking assets. The gold rush created modern California's economic foundation because it attracted complementary industries and infrastructure - not because a few miners got lucky. Similarly, today's most successful investors build ecosystems, not just collections of assets. They understand that sustainable wealth comes from networks and systems that endure beyond market transformations, much more reliable than hoping to catch the next big thing before it turns into just another disappointing ending.
