Fastest Volatility Crush in History

One of the things we have discussed is how quickly volatility surged and then collapsed and how it was one of the fastest shifts we have ever seen in terms of daily ranges. It turns out it was the fastest 20 week shift in the VIX as well.

This Source for this is Charlie Bilello: The 69% decline in the $VIX over the last 20 weeks is the biggest volatility crash in history.

Volatility shifts can be one of the biggest adjustments that we need to account for when developing and implementing trading systems. Was it the rise in volatility that was the anomaly on this cycle or the rapid crush? In other words, was the sell off at the beginning of the year so misaligned with reality that the volatility raced back to reality OR is the volatility crush a pavlovic response based on the way the market treats every sell off with the end of the year returning to the reality of a stock market that corrects into the end of the year?

What the market should do and what it does instead requires us to be nimble in our trading while managing risk.