We do our best to learn from our mistakes , though, and glean insights from original thinkers like Peter Lynch, John Malone, and Tom and David Gardner, who round out our thinking. The nation avoided the catastrophic effects of deflation and, while this might feel like a distant memory, that river of cheap money might have been the difference between survival and failure for hundreds more American banks. As if educating, amusing, and enriching isn't rewarding enough, I get to work with talented, devoted Fools like Philip Durell, Scott Hall, Ron Gross, Mike Olsen, and our editor, Nathan Willis.