Whales vs.... Whales?

By now, I think most of us know about the War of the Whales going on right now.

I call it the War of the Whales because the dolphins and minnows (me!) don't really matter. I also call it the War of the Whales because my own latest post has whales fighting over it, with some upvoting it and others downvoting it. Not all the whales are on board with @abit's experiment and are still upvoting, so this is causing whales (like @abit and @smooth) to downvote minnows' and dolphins' posts, which make some of them very angry.

Think of the War of the Whales this way. Assuming you, dear reader, are a minnow like me, let's say we're engaged in a bidding war. I bid $1. You bid $2. I say, "Well, I really want this. I'll bid $2.50." You say, "Well, I don't really want this, but I'll bid you up. I'll bid $2.75." And then Bill Gates walks in the room.

Now, some people are very angry about this. Some even go so far as to criticize capitalism itself because they're angry that people with more money than them influence things more.

I was lucky enough to encounter this video by @fyrstikken and it made me realize that what whales like @abit are trying to do is level the playing field, so to speak. They are trying to give minnows and dolphins more voting power, and hence more control over their own fate. It is in their best interest to do so because steem power will (and already is) rising in value as more and more people get more and more say. This is the beauty of capitalism.

This post argues that only dolphins matter. That's what capitalism does, in the end. It makes more people dolphins than minnows or whales. Minnows and whales will always be with us. But dolphins are where it's at. See this post for a person excited about their vote all of the sudden mattering more.

Some people are critical of the War of the Whales but opt to remain positive. I feel like this is probably the approach I will take. I am doubtful that this experiment will work. As a biologist, I know firsthand how difficult experiments are to plan. As an amateur psychologist/neurobiologist, I understand that the variables increase exponentially when you are experimenting with humans and with each human added to the experiment, the likelihood of a Black Swan happening increase dramatically. I will remain active and engaged, sit back, and let the War of the Whales continue. After all, what else am I to do? I could quit steemit, but I don't have much Skin in the Game, so I really have nothing to lose and everything to gain if the price of steemit keeps rising and my voting power keeps going up.

This War of the Whales reminds me strongly of a scene from BBC's Frozen Planet, Season 1, Episode 2. Sir David Attenborough narrates some narwhals navigating a narrow channel in the ice. All of a sudden, they encounter a pod of narwhals going the other way. Each side is armored with sharp tusks, says Attenborough. "Finally, one side concedes, and everyone continues in the same direction."