Only the rarest of nerds has a favorite overview of the South Sea Bubble. And in this context, I am him. My favorite retelling of this 300-year-old mania can be found in Charles Mackay’s Extraordinary Popular Delusions and Madness of the Crowds, first published in 1841.
In the text, Mackay colorfully details the speculative frenzy that overtook London’s Exchange Alley in 1720, a year when promoters floated shares of all kinds.
Some, seemingly reasonable. For “the importation of Swedish iron.” For “supplying London with seal-coal.”
Some, perhaps questionable. For “a wheel of perpetual motion.” For “the transmutation of quicksilver into a malleable fine metal.”
Some, downright mad. For “carrying on an undertaking of great advantage;
“but nobody to know what it is.”
I recalled Mackay’s words when I came across recent FT coverage of AI-adjacent energy companies fundraising in the current AI wave. The article’s punchline, quoting TD Cowan’s Jeff Osborne, landed particularly forcefully.
“Often, those faring better [in the market] … are ‘less of a science experiment.’”
Nearly two centuries separate Mackay from Osborne, yet you could lift and shift the sentiment almost verbatim.
Words are powerful. They have meaning. They set expectations. And over time, entities that live up to those expectations earn a reputation, itself a valuable asset.
But in a bubble, fashionable labels take on a life of their own. They flood the lexicon, attracting mountains of capital until costly commitments are all that remain. Until what it means to be “AI-adjacent” is a muddled mess.
Until no one knows what it is.
Energy companies headed to market today would do well to remember history.
Labels fade. Expectations do not.
Tea Leaves #7: NOBODY KNOWS WHAT IT IS
Originally published July 29, 2026
