[pekk]

This really doesn't show that the situation in the late 90s was more ridiculous than today.

First, this is a very carefully selected story, not a representative sample, so it's anyone's guess how bad a measure it is of the absurdity of the overall situation in the late 90s. If we are selective we can find similarly crazy stories from last year, so that it is only a matter of selling the story that the craziest stuff is representative.

Second, the problem is not merely that people take silly risks, the problem is when too much is staked on those silly risks. If everyone thought the market was wacky and outrageous, they wouldn't stake very much. The really serious situation, where too much is staked, is one where everyone is saying things like "can't lose" leading to a system which is structured for catastrophe.

Third, to say it was worse back then implies that we know how bad it is now, which really drives us to the heart of the issue - what evidence we have today. It doesn't really matter about how crazy we think it was in the late 90s.