As a system engineer I am trained to expose, understand and improve complex logic, models and processes within real-world situations for the purpose of improving performance, achieving objectives and meeting needs. As a human I turn those skills to life outside of machines and often that means I look at governments and other structures in society... What do I see when I bring all this into focus while thinking about Steemit?
What do governments, corporations, computers, living bodies, planets, galaxies and universes have in common? Well, a few things are certainly shared, but one of them is that they all operate as complex, interconnecting systems. Something else they share is that they are all energetic structures that are governed by certain universal principles, which we ignore at our peril.
Perhaps the most key lesson I have learned and continue to learn with regards ensuring the success of complex systems relates to the interplay of the presence of balance and the presence of denial. It is balance that determines whether all elements in the system can meet the needs of the other elements and it is denial that is always involved somehow when balance is not present. For example, if we imagine a series of spinning plates:
If the objective of our system is simply to ensure all the plates continue to spin, each plate can be said to have needs which relate to their angle and speed. If the human in the equation is balanced, then he/she can also balance the plates and keep them spinning - but if the human's will and mind are overpowered by pain from stepping on a sharp pin, then balance is lost and there's a good chance the plates will smash. Stepping on the pin can be said to be a denial of mental/emotional/physical balance in the human and changes are needed to bring everything back to balance. The human might also then deny/ignore the pain in a struggle to continue keeping things spinning, but eventually the injury will be so distracting that focus is lost and the increase of plate smashing will get ever higher.
Denial Must Be Ended For Balance To Be Found
Regardless of what we actually do in that exact scenario, the key point is that the best solution cannot be chosen if we remain in denial of the problem. If we pretend there is no pain and no problem, then we are only delaying the inevitable since our body will continue to inform us of reality - "the body doesn't lie". If we pretend that 'everything is perfect', then we might as well give up as that kind of denial will have us claiming that the plates are still spinning long after they have actually been smashed!
In businesses, governments, computer systems and any other system, the biggest dangers can arise where denial is perpetuated that says that the system being used is perfect and impossible to be corrupted. Such a claim effectively also implies that those 'running' the system are infallible - which is unlikely to be the case. Those who have studied North Korea will recognise the stories of how the state run propaganda machine 'educates' the people to view their 'glorious leader' as pretty much a god who never fails and who regularly achieves physical and spiritual goals that are essentially impossible. As long as people within the system continue to believe in lies and continue to force each other to conform to the false version of 'reality' (possibly through violence, coercion or other means), there will be a failure to adapt to circumstances and suffering will be the result.
What protects systems from human corruption, denial and failure of this kind?
Ultimately, we all have responsibility to recognise our own denials and clear them to ensure that we are living in a state of truth and not delusion. That said, in a complex system such as a nation or a planet, there is no guarantee that any one human will have thoroughly achieved this and so for the safety of the rest of those involved it is necessary to decentralised the power in the system as much as possible and to ensure that everyone can determine their own destiny while not overpowering anyone else.
This is the key challenge in running a fair society and also in running a social network on the web. We already know that Facebook and other similar sites are absolutely NOT meeting human needs in terms of balance and integrity - which I was blatantly reminded of recently when Facebook blocked me from posting without explanation after I posted about a not so well known NSA whistleblower.
Even Steem's decentralised structure still does have a degree of top-down control, just as our alleged representative democracies do - however, there is in Steem a genuine intention to find the balance necessary - which I respect and is a
large part of why I am using the system here - plus why I choose to be a Steem Witness.
While North Korea trades on mythology regarding the alleged greatness of it's 'glorious leader' - Steemit, in contrast, allows all dissent without any censorship and ultimately allows for all dishonesty to be exposed and recorded for all time. It will be very interesting to me to find out exactly how @dan Larimer intends to continue this approach with EOS as it "makes governments irrelevant".
Just as these technologies have a genuine chance at changing the world for the better, we will also learn from these new patterns and i foresee the possibility of the people of our world being so inspired that we collectively unite and move to prevent the kinds of top-down, unbalanced, control systems that currently limit us from having any more presence on Earth at all.
Only systems that remove hierarchy that involves subordination and control and are able to be fully transparent and can ever have a chance of being perfect and un-corruptable. We have the basics of that here already in Steemit - so let's continue to learn together, play together and respect each other enough that we increase freedom for all who also respect freedom! In other words - 'be excellent to one another!" :)
There is no way that the Facebooks of our world will be able to survive when faced with an evolved form of social network that supports life and liberty - we just need to all do what we can to ensure that everyone knows about the options they have and why switching to blockchain based social sites is a must for our collective wellbeing. Any system that denies the rights of individuals and which creates ill will repeatedly while denying any attempt at finding balance will eventually implode and be replaced by a saner model. ;)
On a daily level we can all do our bit to live in truth and to find our own balance - ensuring we help the whole in our own way too. A great part to this which is missed in communist states and other authoritarian structures is that it is the WILL of the individual that must LEAD this process and no amount of conformity and top-down control can ever match the power of an empowered will. Just by understanding the dynamics involved and by learning to feel and identify denial in self and others we can all play a role in giving support to those people, groups and systems who also respect the need for balance and an end to denial - which will start to result in ever more unexpected and amazing changes/benefits at a far quicker rate than most will think could ever be possible!
Wishing you well,
Ura Soul
View My Witness Application Here
the world is not as expected, everything is full of lies, they only think of themselves rather than to the public.
@ura-soul
Thank you for sharing your insights and ideas!!
No system is ever going to be perfect, as needs evolve in a complex system, so too will the system’s complexity need to evolve in relation to that.
The Taoist Doctrine of Perfecting Being is pretty much all about that.... the state of ‘perfectingness’ is evolving from moment to moment....
😊🙏🏽☯️
Change is a constant, yes! Perfection is an interesting idea to explore - I like to remember that I am always perfectly me and that includes constant change too. Self acceptance leaves space open for our own perfection being realised already, with the changes we experience being part of our own evolving perfection.
Will corrupt leaders/people in general change just because of blockchain technology? This is what bothers me. Could we truly redistribute wealth? Rich people buy insane amounts, scam people(and can do it freely cause it's not regulated, that's the goal after all) like Mt.Gox catastrophe, Coinbase's insider trading, etc, etc. Can an average person withstand the volatilities(most people lose money in this space)?
What do you think about these things? I try to stay positive about this but in my opinion, we will face lots of difficulties.
I still see that the only solution to our problems starts in the heart and involves a sharing intention and mindset that is understood to be the best way forward and thus needs no overpowering and indeed, is one where no-one really loses out. In a situation where not everyone agrees to such an idea, the true source of the power must take the lead. The source of the power is in each of us and so we must understand the ways in which we have lost power and then take steps to plug those gaps appropriately.
The financial systems and centralised corporate systems of commerce and communication are a few of the main manifestations of the power loss, so any improvements there can stand some chance of helping in general. The idea I have is not so much that corrupt people will change quickly, but it is more that these ones will be exposed and will lose power as a result - leading to new forms of wealth, healing and abundance in general.
This is like chicken and the egg. I think people just need to TRULY LOVE One Another to strike at the root of the problem. The government has a control system of scarcity creating a false compulsion of fear and need in the general public to hoard. So can love overpower government or do the people have to solve the government problem before they will be able to love one another again. Our society is so sick.. I watch cop video's pretty much every day now of cops in the U.S. acting like MILITARY POLICE, very very sick and scary. And SCARIEST is people stil DEFEND the cops, I am the bad guy and so are YOU! Yikes. Thanks for the article
MSM is CIA controlled, as far as North Korea who really knows what to believe, I would say pretty much all of OUR news is propaganda, so more than likely everything NK is LIES.
As you mention steemit is not perfect, but for someone with alternative views it is night and day from twitter. I am excited, I only woke up 1 year ago and all I see are DEAD PEOPLE who do not know they are slaves slowly waking, I was one. Slowly I am starting to grasp the potential of steemit and cryptos, interesting times.
Thanks, yes, it is necessary to watch the many atrocities that are carried out daily and normalised through the heartless systems that many call 'normal'. The more we can identify and feel the choices which are genuinely improving life, the more we find yet further choices which are even better. Staying open to new possibilities is key for our survival and enjoyment of life. :)
The enjoyment part is not so easy in some ways after waking up. BUT, in other ways it is FUN. FUN knowing YOU ARE AWARE of their STUPID heartless LIES. I cannot imagine working for this EVIL and BEING able to LIVE with MYSELF.. ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Hey you got some of the top down sway being a witness and all yeeah.. I have a question, a problem, and a solution. Im not sure your aware but there are users raping the rewards pool through scams and schemes. They are essentially stealing from everyone.
Think of what a centralized platform can do, banhammer right. Well we aren't that so we find our selves at a huge disparity because we can't defend ourselves from attacks from within, the flagging is useless so yeah..
My solution, which I believe you will find interesting considering this post and your interest in systems. Is to implement a mass voting system.
For example, in the example I listed above the witness could come together and determine that a user is abusing the platform, then institute a voting system on that user, shit we already have that with the witness system, and then let the users on the platform make the decision.
In my experience so far, the 'power' of a witness is not so great unless it is backed up with a great deal of vote power behind it. Previously I have lost a lot of vote power just for dissenting from what the voters think they want, based on what they thought I wanted (which actually was being largely misunderstood). The main power of a witness in terms of changing Steemit is in choosing which hardforks to adopt, but the process of actually creating hardforks to choose from is a long, complicated one which the average witness is not involved much in. I think that making suggestions for changes to Steemit and gaining community support for them is something that everyone can do, so the power balance is still largely with 'the people' on one level.
One of the problems with any kind of banning is that, just like the 'legal' systems of the world - there will always be people who feel they have been poorly treated, especially if they are banned from posting. Users can easily then create a new account anyway, so I don't really see that banning can achieve much.
One of the suggestions I made a while ago was for a new 'page of shame' in the site that allows us to easily review who is being downvoted as a way of exposing abuse of both the payout pool and the downvote system. That could help, but I find that any suggestion of in any way weakening individual vote power or free speech will result in a lot of complaints.
hmm all valid points.Though, I'm honestly not so sure that ruling by committee would be
unpopular. After all it would be a very rare instance but yet a powerful message to anyone moving in and looking to destroy the system. First step could be to have the witnesses vote to even have a vote and then the user base has a vote. Not something done regularly, i would even hope it would never be used, but at some point there should be a system in place to protect the ecosystem. It was supposed to be flagging, but I'm not sure that is working
I like that vision of the future and I can see how it might be almost impossible to stop it.
Will
<3
It's time we fix everything ,, it's very good @ura-soul
The system is nothing near perfect, we need to stop denying it and move forward to the better
Another perspective on the inevitable success of these decentralized systems is efficiency. The centrally planned systems are inefficient because they allow those in power to enrich themselves disproportionately. Simple allocation of resources in a more market-based system ensures success of decentralization in competition between these two systems. There is also the aspect of competition for methods of governance within decentralized systems that can further optimize outcomes for the participants.
I'm not trying to take away from the aspect of simple morality involved here. Having the moral high ground and belief in the superiority of your position should give users the courage of conviction that will bring us success. Belief in the righteousness of your cause can give you the persistence that will bring about victory. Just ask the Vietnamese.
We should take proper steps to fix it...
Very Nice
An insightful and inspiring read - thanks.
The concept of Blockchain remains relatively new to me and your work here succinctly elucidates my own woolly thoughts :) - thanks for the clarity.
If people assume responsibility for themselves and refuse all inherited beliefs we stand a greater chance of subverting the outmoded, self serving systems which enslave so many.
Thanks to the great and innovative minds which develop and build the technologies which afford us this chance.
Exciting times ahead.
I wish you continued success in all that you do throughout 2018 and far beyond.
xox
Thanks! I will simply re-iterate that there is nothing wrong with being self-serving.. who will wipe my own butt but me? :)
The issue is where there is a lack of balance between needs of self and needs of other selves.
Indeed my words in another form.
xox
Thanks for the post. As a newbie here I found it to be pleasantly positive and encouraging. I think Steemit is on the right track as well, even if it is like learning a complex game of sorts.