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To answer your question, you must begin with the metaphysics i.e. our worldview. Our civilization currently operates under the assumption that there exists one

To answer your question, you must begin with the metaphysics i.e. our worldview. Our civilization currently operates under the assumption that there exists one truth and everyone must adhere to that truth. It worked out fine when we were in small towns, but now that literally billions of people are connected, we're realizing that not everyone can be in sync. To cut the long story short, there are many people who believe that we need to have a fundamentally different approach to how we form communities. Decentralization is one of those trends in tech that could help us get there.

reubenswartz 6y ago
I don't know if we currently operate under the assumption of a single truth. There's also a big difference between different perspectives and things that are blatantly wrong. Decentralization is interesting, but 20 years ago, there were many small "social networks", even if they didn't go by that name. FB and it's portfolio are the first ones to create 1B+ member "communities". There are very strong economic incentives for smaller communities to grow into larger communities (FB illustrates the possibilities and perils of focusing on growth).
- simmanian 6y ago
  >I don't know if we currently operate under the assumption of a single truth. This is perhaps too big a topic to discuss on HN comments, but the idea that there are absolute & unchanging truths goes all the way back to Plato. The Western Civilization is founded on top of a very specific worldview that is "centered" on these absolute truths. This is the reason why a lot of traditionalists see postmodernism as the root of all evil. >There's also a big difference between different perspectives and things that are blatantly wrong. I don't disagree. What I'd like to focus on is not basic logic like 1 + 1 = 2, but rather the implications of these. That some people are born with XY or XX chromosomes is a fact. What we do with those facts is entirely context dependent. >Decentralization is interesting... There are very strong economic incentives for smaller communities to grow into larger communities Recent decentralization trends are designed to combat this exactly at the protocol level.
  - reubenswartz 6y ago
    > This is perhaps too big a topic to discuss on HN comments, Ha ha-- so true. But thanks for making a valiant effort. ;-) > but the idea that there are absolute & unchanging truths goes all the way back to Plato. The Western Civilization is founded on top of a very specific worldview that is "centered" on these absolute truths. This is the reason why a lot of traditionalists see postmodernism as the root of all evil. You could argue that it predates Plato... But even before postmodernism, people seemed to have trouble agreeing on one truth. >There's also a big difference between different perspectives and things that are blatantly wrong. >> I don't disagree. What I'd like to focus on is not basic logic like 1 + 1 = 2, but rather the implications of these. That some people are born with XY or XX chromosomes is a fact. What we do with those facts is entirely context dependent. This is a great example of an issue that I've seen on FB. Most people do have XY or XX, but a small percentage of people have something different. Beyond that, the way those genes get expressed can lead to different phenotype outcomes, which is a scientific "fact", but I've seen a lot of people, including from folks who claim to have MDs, who say that it's just XX or XY. Is this "misinformation"? Probably depends on who you ask... >Decentralization is interesting... There are very strong economic incentives for smaller communities to grow into larger communities >> Recent decentralization trends are designed to combat this exactly at the protocol level. Please explain more. I don't dispute that their are notions of smaller communities, I'm just thinking that there are structural reasons why those smaller communities will get eclipsed by communities focused on growth.

reubenswartz 6y ago

I don't know if we currently operate under the assumption of a single truth. There's also a big difference between different perspectives and things that are blatantly wrong. Decentralization is interesting, but 20 years ago, there were many small "social networks", even if they didn't go by that name. FB and it's portfolio are the first ones to create 1B+ member "communities". There are very strong economic incentives for smaller communities to grow into larger communities (FB illustrates the possibilities and perils of focusing on growth).

simmanian 6y ago
>I don't know if we currently operate under the assumption of a single truth. This is perhaps too big a topic to discuss on HN comments, but the idea that there are absolute & unchanging truths goes all the way back to Plato. The Western Civilization is founded on top of a very specific worldview that is "centered" on these absolute truths. This is the reason why a lot of traditionalists see postmodernism as the root of all evil. >There's also a big difference between different perspectives and things that are blatantly wrong. I don't disagree. What I'd like to focus on is not basic logic like 1 + 1 = 2, but rather the implications of these. That some people are born with XY or XX chromosomes is a fact. What we do with those facts is entirely context dependent. >Decentralization is interesting... There are very strong economic incentives for smaller communities to grow into larger communities Recent decentralization trends are designed to combat this exactly at the protocol level.
- reubenswartz 6y ago
  > This is perhaps too big a topic to discuss on HN comments, Ha ha-- so true. But thanks for making a valiant effort. ;-) > but the idea that there are absolute & unchanging truths goes all the way back to Plato. The Western Civilization is founded on top of a very specific worldview that is "centered" on these absolute truths. This is the reason why a lot of traditionalists see postmodernism as the root of all evil. You could argue that it predates Plato... But even before postmodernism, people seemed to have trouble agreeing on one truth. >There's also a big difference between different perspectives and things that are blatantly wrong. >> I don't disagree. What I'd like to focus on is not basic logic like 1 + 1 = 2, but rather the implications of these. That some people are born with XY or XX chromosomes is a fact. What we do with those facts is entirely context dependent. This is a great example of an issue that I've seen on FB. Most people do have XY or XX, but a small percentage of people have something different. Beyond that, the way those genes get expressed can lead to different phenotype outcomes, which is a scientific "fact", but I've seen a lot of people, including from folks who claim to have MDs, who say that it's just XX or XY. Is this "misinformation"? Probably depends on who you ask... >Decentralization is interesting... There are very strong economic incentives for smaller communities to grow into larger communities >> Recent decentralization trends are designed to combat this exactly at the protocol level. Please explain more. I don't dispute that their are notions of smaller communities, I'm just thinking that there are structural reasons why those smaller communities will get eclipsed by communities focused on growth.