Antifragility and cryptocurrency
Update: Since posting this on my website a few months ago I have started using Steemit (obviously), and OpenBazaar in addition to the three listed at the bottom. I think distributed trustless blockchains are a great form of resilience and I am excited to see what happens with blockchains locally in the future! Arizona now recognizes blockchains as legally valid for contracts!
We may strive to become self sufficient or local community sufficient to reduce our dependence on fragile networks such as megacorperation, monoculture, and the like; but much of our life is still tied to large-scale centralized control through our use of fiat currency.
A short note on what I am talking about when I reference resilience and fragility. Nassim Nicholas Taleb in his book "Antifragile" writes about three classifications of change tolerance: fragile, resilient, and antifragile. Fragile systems being those systems that do not deal well with change. A glass ornament, a monoculture crop field, and a highly leveraged and "streamlined" corporation can all be considered fragile. A drop from a few feet will break a glass ornament, a single pesticide-resistant insect infestation can obliterate acres of monoculture farmland, and a scandal in corporate leadership can bring down an entire company. Resilient systems can tolerate disturbances up to a point. A metal cup resists damage more than a glass one. A farm with several separate yields can resist a failure in one crop more easily. A company with distributed local leadership is less exposed to the risk of scandal. But there is yet another classification that actually GAINS from disorder (up to a point). A muscle will become stronger over time if it is stressed by lifting something heavy. A permaculture property with many integrated systems will adapt to climate variables and will over time produce the most advantageous plants. Finally, small, diverse, and adaptable local economies react rapidly to change and become profitable.
Obviously, there is a draw to being more resilient, but this sometimes clashes with traditional economics and the perceived importance of efficiency and specialization. If we think about it, there is a trend towards things that are more grassroots, local, and distributed being more resilient. Centralization on the other hand leads to fragility. I think that this is a fundamental concept of what I want to promote with Resilient Ecology Systems and Design - a move to diverse, small, local solutions.
Antifragility and cryptocurrency
February 25, 2017
We may strive to become self sufficient or local community sufficient to reduce our dependence on fragile networks such as megacorperation, monoculture, and the like; but much of our life is still tied to large-scale centralized control through our use of fiat currency.
A short note on what I am talking about when I reference resilience and fragility. Nassim Nicholas Taleb in his book "Antifragile" writes about three classifications of change tolerance: fragile, resilient, and antifragile. Fragile systems being those systems that do not deal well with change. A glass ornament, a monoculture crop field, and a highly leveraged and "streamlined" corporation can all be considered fragile. A drop from a few feet will break a glass ornament, a single pesticide-resistant insect infestation can obliterate acres of monoculture farmland, and a scandal in corporate leadership can bring down an entire company. Resilient systems can tolerate disturbances up to a point. A metal cup resists damage more than a glass one. A farm with several separate yields can resist a failure in one crop more easily. A company with distributed local leadership is less exposed to the risk of scandal. But there is yet another classification that actually GAINS from disorder (up to a point). A muscle will become stronger over time if it is stressed by lifting something heavy. A permaculture property with many integrated systems will adapt to climate variables and will over time produce the most advantageous plants. Finally, small, diverse, and adaptable local economies react rapidly to change and become profitable.
Obviously, there is a draw to being more resilient, but this sometimes clashes with traditional economics and the perceived importance of efficiency and specialization. If we think about it, there is a trend towards things that are more grassroots, local, and distributed being more resilient. Centralization on the other hand leads to fragility. I think that this is a fundamental concept of what I want to promote with Resilient Ecology Systems and Design - a move to diverse, small, local solutions.
But what does this have to do with cryptocurrency? I sincerely believe that platforms like Bitcoin, Etherium, and Dash (to name a few) enable more vibrant local economies that are not tied to destructive debt-based economies, central control, and politicized monetary/fiscal policy. Unlike fiat currencies with value based on faith in a country's economy and secured by police/banks, cryptocurrencies are valued based on their utility and secured by math. As cryptocurrencies gain acceptance in the mainstream, they will become even more useful as a tool for trade. Their decentralized nature makes them more resilient in theory than fiat currency. Cryptocurrency is more protected from manipulation by central authority than your US dollars are, and they are harder to regulate and control as well. Vibrant local economies that are not dependent on central intervention are not just possible but become highly probable with cryptocurrency. Banks, counterfeiting, credit card processors, and even contracts are being supplanted by blockchain technology and cryptocurrency.
I highly recommend looking at some of the exciting new things that are being developed with cryptocurrencies (and blockchain technology in general). As a way of promoting the use of cryptocurrency, I will be accepting Bitcoin as payment for all design work and labor with a 10% discount. I have also added a bitcoin address to the footer of the website if you feel inclined to support what RESD is doing in Northern Arizona! Look at the links below if you want to learn more!
https://www.cryptoversity.com/
-Stay Resilient!