Bitcoin & Fire: Forces of Nature
Professor Jordan Peterson describes nature as ‘that which selects’, which I take to mean that all selective behavior is ‘nature’ at work.
But for the sake of this piece, I’ll approach nature as that force which unceasingly conjures up novelty, and ‘selects’ those most primed and capable of adapting to take advantage of what it offers.
What then, accounts for the things which emerge out of the natural world that are adopted and proliferate, and those which don’t?
If nature ‘selects’, by throwing out a never-ending stream of phenomena, and seeing which takes hold, then those it ‘selects’ first, must be the curious.
So we might say,
curiosity is the other side of the selective force of nature.
It is the unforgiving essential ingredient that pushes individuals and species forward if they guess right, and to destruction, poverty or irrelevance if they guess wrong. (Think sampling a new food source. Will it be a beneficial addition to an animal’s nutrient mix? Or will it be poisonous? What happens if they don’t sample it at all?).
Fire is a powerful force of nature.
Among the reactions from the first humans to encounter it, most were likely fearful.
They saw the destruction it wrecked and decided it was best to stay away.
They saw the unpredictability of it and their lack of control over it and decided to stay amongst the known and the controllable, or rather, amongst the things which they had already accepted to be out of their control.
Their fear and closed-mindedness caused them to miss all the different applications of fire that might improve the lives of them and their communities. They told everyone to ‘stay away!’, ‘it’s dangerous!’, ‘don’t be stupid!’.
But, some curious individuals, less constrained by fear, less consumed by the dominant narratives of the community, decided to investigate. They didn’t understand it at first. They didn’t know where it came from, how to control it, or what could be done with it, but they were curious, so they jumped at any chance to learn more.
They ran towards wildfires, and ignored all the criticism from the community when doing so. Yes, they got burned. Some may have even died. But over time, they learned.
They learned that this was a new technology, and that far from being a threat to survival, it could be the key to liberation.
Liberation from the unpredictable forces of nature, liberation from malnourishment, from harsh environments, from discomfort, and hold the promise of greater productivity, faster development, stronger defenses, more ambitious exploration, and much more.
Importantly, it fostered greater cooperation amongst the curious, too. As the benefits to be derived from adopting this technology became more and more apparent, it was recognized that the best way to preserve it and maximize its benefits for everyone, was to work together.
This accelerated the understanding of how to use the technology, but accelerated social interaction too. By bringing ever more people into the fold to understand, contribute to, and use this technology as effectively as possible, an ever-larger community was born.
In the case of fire, it is theorized that this increased level of social interaction was one of the primary forces behind the development of language, perhaps an example of the exponential benefits of layering innovations on top of each other.
Additionally, while it was likely immediately obvious that fire represented a new, powerful source of energy that humans could harness, the energy it allowed us to release within ourselves was likely less obvious. The cooking of food, particularly meat, expanded our diets, led to greater caloric and nutrient intake (yay fat!), more efficient digestion, greater energy resources devoted to brain development (the gut shrunk as more digestion was ‘outsourced’ to cooking, and the brain picked up the extra energy and grew rapidly), greater fertility, longer lives, less death from parasites and bacteria, and as a result, faster population growth.
Also, fire freed-up time. Meat could now be dried and stored for future use, the length of the ‘productive day’ was extended, and even the shortened requirement for chewing all freed-up time for other pursuits.
Simply put, though new and scary, fire was a BIG deal. So, what did those early ‘torch-bearers’ do?
They brought this knowledge back to their community, but surprisingly, were still chastised. “It’s too risky!’, ‘What if you can’t control it!’, ‘It’s black magic!’, ‘Everything is fine the way it is!’, ‘How dare you presume to know more than the elders!’.
But despite the barrage of criticism, the curious few were not deterred. They realized that things COULD actually be better, and that this new technology offered great potential to bring about a better life for everyone. And so they were forced to split.
What happened next?
Those who adopted fire developed more quickly, they had better health and stronger bodies, they fashioned better tools and weapons, they protected their territory more effectively, they extended their productive hours, they reinforced each others intellectual curiosity and innovative attitudes, they communicated more, and thrived.
The other camp was stunted. They remained at the mercy of nature. They did not change. They did not improve.
The physical world around them reflected the rigidness and stagnation of their mindset, and they declined.
Many drifted into the evolutionary garbage bin, some survived, just. But they did not thrive. Over time, it was clear that the ‘torch-bearers’ were right, and the world that they had constructed for themselves was far better than the one they had left behind.
They became the dominant community, and ultimately, though somewhat begrudgingly, absorbed the refugees from all others. Admission, however, wasn’t free. “If you want to join our community you must learn about the fire, respect the fire, contribute to our knowledge of the fire, use the fire for good, but also, enjoy the fire!”
And so, from nature emerged fire, and so too, from nature emerged curiosity, that thing which makes all animals ‘selectable’, if you will.
Nature selects, but it selects from itself.
It draws out from itself those with the most expansive view of what it can be. It yearns for expansion and expression, and it entices those who might fulfill this desire with the promise of possibility and potential for a better, more interesting, more fulfilling experience of life.
Nature selects, and in doing so engages and rewards those who align with its infinite possibility. We are either constrained or liberated by the forces of nature we align with, and the adaptation that follows.
Fire was one of the most transformative forces of nature in the human story.
Bitcoin is another.
It may very well turn out to be the ‘fire moment’ of the coming digital age.
Ignore it, and you will likely suffer. Embrace it, and there’s no telling what possibilities it may bring.
:)
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