It hasn't been the greatest day, but it has been acceptable day, considering that my wife woke up at three with some kind of virus or food poisoning, and then Smallsteps heard her in the bathroom and woke up at five. Suffice to say, everyone is now a bit tired. My wife spent the day in bed (and bathroom), and to give her some space, I took Smallsteps out into the city for some sushi and a walk around the shops, and into a park or two to burn off whatever disappointment she had, as we were meant to go to her grandparents' for lunch, and she was looking forward to it.
While we were eating dinner back home together (wife still in bed), we were chatting away about all kinds of things and she asked,
How come you know so much, Daddy?
It is a funny question really, because of course, it is all relative. I don't know much in comparison to many people, but I know a fair amount in comparison to others. Of course, it all comes down to experience and attention to what is being experienced also. Some people are very good at learning out of books for example, but is that knowing a lot, or is it only knowing when it is able to be applied?
In the world of Google and ChatGPT, knowing information and even creating content from that information is incredibly cheap, making it pretty much valueless. It is not that it can't be used, but ubiquity and limitless supply means that there is no value in the creation, or in the purchase to hold of it, because one can just create more. If there is no perceived value, there is no value.
For instance, when it comes to NFTs, most people don't get why they are valuable, because *anyone can copy the image or do something similar. However, what they aren't recognizing is that the person who perceives a particular NFT as valuable, isn't looking at the image itself, but rather than unique identifier that says, this image is mine. The value is in the ownership, not in the reproduction, in the same way a famous painting is priceless, but prints of the same painting are in the discount bin down at the local dollar store.
Experience is valuable.
And I think that this is going to be an interesting part of culture in the future of digitalization, because more and more, we are going to require proof of experience. Just imagine if it was possible to really get a sense of a person's experience, not just what they say online.
It is similar to getting trading advice from someone who talks in percentages about their wins, but doesn't actually have much skin in the game, or perhaps none at all. For instance, having a look at some of the people who hang around Twitter-hyped tokens, most of them seem like they are pretty juvenile and the amounts they are playing with are relatively insignificant - at least in the grand scheme of things.
When it comes to expertise, I suspect that many people online don't actually have all that much, but because they can Google their knowledge, as well as their replies, they seem knowledgeable. But, there is a massive difference between someone knowing how to surf, and being able to surf.
No.
How do YOU surf?
The answer should be, "I don't surf. I am a computer language".
And that is pretty much how most people should answer most of what they broadcast online, as they don't tend to have anywhere near the experience they purport they do on any given subject, even though they might position themselves as an expert or some kind of authority.
I know where I have experience and where I am exploring a topic, but do you know where I have experience and where I am exploring? Digital exploration is fantastic, and we can all be internet flaneurs, but we also have to be wary of overstepping our marks and starting to believe that we know something, because we are able to find information on it.
With more and more information being so easily available it is valueless, what we have to consider is what will actually be valuable. And that is, what is creative in a way that it will generate value, meaning, have a usecase. If you aren't able to take what you learn and apply it to create something that someone is willing to pay for, all the information in the world isn't going to bring in value. Even if some people are able to leverage the same information to generate value, the lower the bar to entry, the more who will jump aboard.
Making it valueless.
This is why new trends come and go so quickly, because the cost of replication is very low, so it is get in, make a mark and grab some value, then get copied to the point that there is no longer any advantage, because there is no brand loyalty. Ubiquity, coupled with source agnostics, means that it doesn't matter if you were first or not, once there is a more attractive alternative, everyone will jump ship. But, because people are looking for "new" they will jump to the next random trend completely.
No loyalty, no commitment.
So unless you can consistently deliver, you are shot out of luck, because people don't care unless they are able to extract value, especially online, from strangers. Unless you have built up a strong relationship, no one really cares if you live or die online - you just fade away, out of sight, out of mind.
Is this sad?
No. What it is, is an indication of what will be required in the future for those who want to be even more digital. If they aren't able to make personal connections, or deliver something of value continuously, they will be replaced by who or what can instead. Everyone is disposable, none more so than those who live predominantly in the digital space.
I don't know much.
In the grand scheme of things at least. But, I am very precise in making sure that my daughter knows when I know something and when I have to search for an answer. I do not pretend I know everything because I can google it in the background, because that gives her an unrealistic view of her father. She has to understand that no one knows everything and in time, of someone thinks they do, she should be very wary. A lot of the youth today do not seem to be able to read all the signs of deception, online or in the real world and in time, it is going to make them suffer more and more, in the same way that when we are deceived by our evaluations of others, we can suffer too.
Plans change, because conditions change.
Our plans changed today due to illness, but the conditions of "value" are constantly changing and if we want to be able to provide value in return for value, we have to understand what is valuable to begin with.
Ubiquity is valueless. Scarcity is valuable.
If anyone is willing to pay for it, that is.
What do you know and, what can you do?
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
