How I Learned To Love the Bubble (Even Before it Bursts)

By John P. Hussman, Ph.D. – Hussman Funds

In seventh grade science class, we studied how things are classified – the systems used to organize various kinds of rocks, elements, species, different types of clouds. I’ve always liked the name “cumulonimbus” – the sort of big billowy heap of a cloud that has a dark grey underside – full of water, not yet transformed into rainfall. If you see those clouds and suddenly feel a cool breeze, that’s often the storm’s “gust front” racing ahead of the rain – and a good time to head for cover.

You wouldn’t look at the rainfall and think it has come from nowhere. Looking at the cloud, you know the rainfall was already there – just waiting for enough conditions to show itself. As warm, humid air rides up over the wedge of cooler air, the cloud builds – water vapor beading into droplets, gathering weight until they finally let go as rain.

We call rainfall a “conditioned” phenomenon because it depends on many other factors. When causes and conditions are sufficient, the rainfall manifests. When causes and conditions are no longer sufficient, the rainfall ceases to manifest.