What is to become of the unwanted ones? Those who do not fit, whom civilization must prune from the vine to protect the ripeness of its fruit.

Such noxious social norms have persisted throughout history, with cultures defining themselves by whom they exclude. For so long as there is progress, there will always be human debris in its wake, those on the outside looking in. So sooner or later, one must answer the question what becomes of them?

Admittedly, there exist dark corners of society worthy of exclusion; murderers, slave traders, human trafficking, fraudsters, the list goes on. But what of those men and women who dare defy logic and reason to uncover new sciences, technologies and concepts; the innovators. What of them? For all too often, the states we so obediently serve have thrown such men and women into the very same corner of darkness reserved for the former. This sets a dangerous precedent, one that discourages the latter from ever engaging in such endeavors, thus undermining our productive capacity as a whole.

The corrosive consequences of such reckless prosecutions are substantial. Often attributed with a lack of understanding, ignorance or reluctance to endorse any trend or technology that threatens the current state of affairs. There is no denying, our population is getting older and with age one naturally seeks comfort and prosperity, while protecting a lifetimes wealth and legacy. Change is not comfortable, alas the individuals tasked with discerning the good from the bad are aging.

The aristocracy will have you believe they act in our best interest, while they’re ability to enact their duty grows obsolete. Individual innovators, developers, are being arrested for the crime-less act of free speech, while large firms are permitted to perform the same function under the protection of the corporate veil. Sadly, the fallacy of constant growth has perpetuated a system which facilitates firms to rob the poor under the cover of law. This failing system of merit based mobility is outlined in great detail here.

Changing Course

What vexes us so?

To understand popular delusions and the madness of crowds, one must examine the cognitive faculties that work well in some environments for some purposes, but then get awry when applied at scale, in novel circumstances, or in the service of other goals. Such is the well known act of applying reason to arrive at rational conclusions. The obvious reason that people don’t board the train of reasoning is they don’t like where it takes them. It terminates at a location that is not in their self interest.

Rationality is a public good, and a public good sets the stage for the commons. We each prefer to conceive “our” truths, when in reality, we are better of understanding “the” truth. Fortunately, the truth is eventually propagated when it is scrutinized amongst the commons. Collaboration fosters rational thought, as it perpetuates a discourse that facilitates the destruction of “my side” bias.

Changing the course of innovation in the face of turbulent laws and irrational biases entails a collaborative approach; one that is best forged within a community. Collaboration is key, as is verifiable communication, enabling us to discern the good from the bad, and signal these findings to the commons accordingly.

Driving Innovation through collaboration

This is the primary tenet of Up is DAO. A collaborative effort will drive true and rational innovation toward building new public goods for the betterment of the commons. The absence of avarice is crucial in this endeavor, distancing ourselves from the contagion that has plagued DeFi for the last 24 months. Bootstrapping this collaborative community will entail finding those among us with similar skills and motifs, those stuck on the outside looking in.

So what becomes of them?

Yours aye,

Capt. H