Yes, yes it is.

The psychologist Abraham Maslow famously said, “When the only tool you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.” It has become increasingly common to see financial journalists and bloggers refer to the VIX as an indicator of market sentiment and sometimes of market direction, and those authors inclined toward technical analysis even apply their tools to draw predictive conclusions. But the VIX doesn’t seem to act very nail-like in spite of the best efforts of hammer-wielding technicians...