Posted by Cannady,

What's the difference? The value of a service or good is determined by the demand for it and its available supply. Mating demand with supply is precisely a market does by definition. Folks tend to forget that supply and demand are functions that evolve over time plus some other parameters. So markets need not only deal with a snapshot of some God's eye view of the condition of buyer and seller, but also with risk each takes in agreeing on a price now for fulfillment later.
What are the other parameters? Are you making an argument that markets are rational and predictable? Your use of value is technically correct, but I was referring to value as value to society (goods and/or services), and a lot of the market action today has nothing to do with that type of value. Got it, that is just the way it is, that is how the system evolved so those in the know can make a lot of money that is often disassociated with the true value of a company's goods and services. The system still works if you look at from the optic of the stock's value, and not the underlying value of the company. I guess at heart I'm more of a value investor. One would think with the major market correct there are a lot of value buys out there now, but like the masses I remain suspect that something else is going on and it may be impossible for the common investor to find true value now.

You needn't introduce such an awkward, loaded notion as "artificially determined value" to understand "to big to fail." You just need to get rid of the assumption that either value or losses are conserved.
Artifically determined value is a loaded phrase, agreed, but there have been instances when stock prices have been "artifically" manipulated (in clear violation of the law). This has always happened, but it seems logical that the risks are greater now due to globalism and the coorisponding ability to move money rapidly around the globe. It may be impossible for governments to effectively regulate this behavior.

Yes, there are. One is scale. The other is empiricism. Another may be that you're overestimating the performance of your portfolio, or your contribution to its success.
Are you the author of a "Random Walk on Wall Street"? Agreed again, but at least it seemed that market conditions were somewhat more predictable then, and if the old rules no longer apply, what has changed? Why has it changed? And is that change good?