Metamorphosis : change of physical form, structure, or substance. : a marked and more or less abrupt developmental change in the form or structure of an animal (as a butterfly or a frog) occurring subsequent to birth or hatching.
Another butterfly effect
What’s the matter with this? Am I going to talk about butterflies and caterpillars? That’s not the ambition here, yet the way those little insects transform should be a great inspiration for our species. Caterpillars, when they first appear on the surface of Earth, are nothing but another random worm whose destiny is to get killed by an even more random bird. That’s the fairy tale of nature here, where random m*f** eat each other under the toxic supervision of human beings making sure it’s harder every day,because of the destruction of our ecosystem. Whether you believe it or not, the heroic stories of our caterpillar counterparts hold a genuine fairy tale that deserves our attention. The metamorphosis encoded in their DNA might be what we need to survive as a society, considering the monumental challenges we face in our era. Does our society possess a social DNA code, shared with prehistoric tribes? Do we possess the capacity to reinvent our tribes?
In another article, I shared my relative optimism on our ability to mitigate the greatest risks our species is facing today, especially global warming. I briefly approached the topic of non-linearity and how knowledge can't be seen as a constant and predictable linear function, but rather as a chaotic exploration where some hidden gems will lead us to explosive outcomes and life-changing applications. In some way, humans can actually take advantage of the chaotic nature of the modern world. The more complex and connected our societies are, the quicker the propagation of potential changes. Chaos can become our greatest ally when we are headed in the right direction, especially in a world governed by exponentially accelerating chain reactions at the social and financial levels. Our world can be modelled as a multilayer network, enabling cascade effects that one can’t predict. Yet, we possess the knowledge of the decisions we should make in order to shift our paradigm from self-destruction to constructive environmentalism, aligning with our individual rights and economic development.
A few months ago, ChatGPT and OpenAI made humanity enter the generative-AI era almost overnight and did not need the solid decade the internet relied on to convince people of its usefulness. Maybe that seems nothing for you, but it is an extraordinary news given that Alan Turing conceptualized the first computer less than 100 years ago. Now, what's the matter with the metamorphosis? Let me delve into the application of this idea at the societal level, as originated by Edgar Morin. He argues that self-destruction is also self-construction, where identity is maintained through embracing otherness. In this context, humankind has the potential to regenerate into a new entity, meeting new requirements and following different rules of motion, while still adhering to the same fundamental principles in terms of survival. As our strictly human mind is threatened by the greatest computational engine ever developed, we may have the ability to foster new revolutions without the need for decades. The 21st century allows paradigms to become the norm faster than ever in our species' history.
Forever teetering on the precipice
As a species, we find ourselves teetering on the precipice of self-destruction, uncertain of our future and the very assurance of our survival. Meanwhile, there exist those among us who persist in promoting short-sighted choices, driven solely by the desire to preserve their unfair financial advantages and positions in a world slowly awakening to collective consciousness, where inequalities and the destruction of our ecosystem is less tolerated everyday. Some oil-monarchies persist in driving forward with deep exploration and irresponsible consumption, which, if adopted by the entirety of humanity, could potentially lead us toward an apocalyptic scenario sooner rather than later. What makes this even more concerning is the fact that such actions do not even bring them true happiness, although going into that conversation would require more time.
Allow me to present a perspective, one that you are free to challenge: Behaviors that contradict our survival can only persist temporarily, as the laws of nature will inevitably assert themselves as the driving force behind our decisions, whether we embrace them or not. Yet, this awakening typically happens when it's almost too late, making its presence known after irreversible damage has occurred. Similar to the nuclear proliferation agreements that emerged following the complete destruction of two Japanese towns and numerous irreparable calamities caused by nuclear weapons testing, humans tend to act only when confronted with an immediate or actual crisis. And yes, here we go again.
Darkness will pave the way before the first light of dawn emerges, but that dawn shall indeed break upon us. It will get darker before the dawn, and our challenge is to make sure we don't get lost in obscurity, succumbing to our inability to act and the irreversible consequences it brings.
Social DNA
I don't know if history actually repeats itself, but I do believe that there are some patterns and common social behaviors and traits shared between the first Homo Sapiens and your buddies addicted to their social networks. Yes, you heard it right. I do think that a random influencer, despite potentially being a total shallow idiot, has more in common with our mighty ancestors who hunted for food and fought lions than most people would be willing to accept. The way these common emotions are expressed may vary slightly, and being part of a tribe no longer involves protecting the firecamp together against predators. Instead, it means being confined within a digital echo chamber, where the constant sharing of more or less relevant content online takes priority and validates one's belonging to a specific online community—a modern substitute for traditional tribes.
Just as humans possess a complex code known as DNA that defines a wide array of their primary attributes, I believe that human societies, composed of these individuals, also possess a shared and hardcoded list of characteristics that will endure until the day our sun ceases to illuminate that precious blue gem we call Planet Earth. Indeed, a sort of social DNA.
Throughout history, human-made societies exhibit a profound incapacity to formulate dependable long-term predictions and effectively anticipate the future. This deficiency becomes ever more pronounced as entropy ascends to unprecedented levels and the world becomes more chaotic and unpredictable every seconds, and the tumultuous dynamics of social interactions grow increasingly difficult to comprehend. In a world where a random tweet has the potential to ignite a political crisis, the ability to accurately predict future events seems more akin to sorcery than a legitimate scientific endeavor. Regrettably, central banks and politics continue to rely on the seemingly mystical realm of black-magic econometrics and macroeconomic theories to justify their catastrophic decisions. However, let's save that discussion for another day.
Consequently, we are unable to recognize our survivorship bias in a timely manner, preventing us from averting the damage caused by our past mistakes. Our lack of awareness hinders our ability to address the issues at the right moment. The younger generations bear no responsibility for the environmental crisis inflicted upon them by their greedy ancestors. Our unique hope may resides in the potential for a metamorphosis, activating dormant pieces of code of our internal social software that possess the capacity to bring about an irreversible transformation. This metamorphosis would initiate the necessary changes for our survival considering our current environment and its inherent challenges to our survival.
Some dormant pieces of code within our social DNA will not entirely guide the process. Instead, they should give the first step to our modern tribes, placing us in a position where we cannot revert back. Our incentives would change, and our rationality would align with our long-term objective: survival.
Our social DNA does not guide us through a step-by-step approach, but rather a major update that impacts core collective decisions. Leveraging the rapid propagation effect of our globalized world becomes essential in this transformation. At times, chaos can be our ally, as even minor alterations to the initial state and core principles can result in remarkable and far-reaching outcomes. Imagine society as a complex entanglement of codes, resembling a Matrix-like simulation: the metamorphosis does not involve rewriting the entire software, but a major update in just one core component. This update directs the other modules, including humans, to adhere to new laws of motion, fitting our best instincts and leading us towards what actually makes sense. Sometimes, changing just a few things can produce massive outcomes.
It’s written somewhere
In the next article, I will detail some examples of the metamorphosis our species has already gone through and explain why the solution might be right under our nose, on the condition that we can implement drastic incentives shifts within the main system driving our poor decisions: the financial and economic system. Sometimes, the solution may sound simple, but its implementation is incredibly difficult.
See you next week.