DAO Politics is a series of podcasts from Forklog, in which we, together with invited experts, understand how decentralized autonomous organizations work, talk about their conceptual and technological foundations. The fourth issue is dedicated to Gilles Deleuze, one of the most radical decentralization theorists. Philosopher Ivan Belonogov talks about whether the co-author of “A Thousand Plateaus” invented the Internet and why it is important to train the power of imagination.
1. There are organizations – vertical and network. The former operate within the framework of an internal hierarchy, the latter are created according to the network principle. They are usually opposed to each other. In hierarchical organizations, personal status is of primary importance. The first question that arises in a new member of the hierarchical structure when addressing a colleague is: “What rank are you?”. If his status is lower than that of a beginner, then he should be spoken to as a subordinate. If higher, it is necessary to depict a trembling creature. That is, in hierarchies, people communicate not directly, but through their ranks. This type of organization is not the most effective, but in some situations it is indispensable. For example, when something critical, extraordinary happens and a high speed of decision-making is required.
In network organizations, the effects of ranks are much weaker. They differ from the hierarchy not in that there is no core at all, but in that there can be many of them. The node that accumulates the largest number of connections becomes the center. There is more freedom in the network: you can always switch from one center to another, for example, more suitable for tasks. However, there are limitations here: rules of conduct, often unspoken. If you don’t follow them, they won’t deal with you.
2. And there is a rhizome. This popular concept offered in 1976 by the French philosopher Gilles Deleuze. The rhizome is often referred to as a “mycelium” and is considered to be such a network. But this is not entirely true.
The network can survive several breaks: if a person deletes two out of five friends, then he will still have three more, through which he will be connected with news and trends. But in the event of a complete break in relations with everyone, a person will fall out of the network. The rhizome is arranged differently: in it, each node is dynamic, it grows out of itself and is able to be included in different configurations. If necessary, it will become part of a hierarchy or grow into a multi-core network. Such an organization is compared to the market. In the market, all nodes are single, they are initially autonomous and only at the next step can interact or compete with each other.
In a hierarchy, ranks and status are the most important. Abilities are quoted on the network, but statuses are also important. In the case of rhizome, the emphasis shifts to skills: how you are useful to others. Therefore, in a rhizomatic community, a person is constantly changing, adapting and relearning, thereby gaining freedom and independence. In the example of a network organization with five friends, it is clear that a person will try his best not to lose connection with the network, perhaps even going against himself, denying himself freedom. A rhizomatically thinking person is autonomous. Even if everyone leaves him, he will not lose contact with reality, continue his journey, find new communication nodes. Web3 is conducive to something similar.
3. The rhizome concept goes well with third order cybernetics. To understand the current Internet, let’s talk about its origins. Cybernetics of the first order is the cybernetics of one subject, the subject-object model. Her developed Norbert Wiener. The bottom line is that we observe something and study its properties based on negative feedbacks. This principle assumes that only the end goal is taken into account, and everything else is discarded. A good example: a person decided to buy an iPhone at the end of the month, so he will refuse any other expenses. Additional spending will not help him achieve his goal, so he avoids them.
Cybernetics of the second order is a subject-subject model. Not only the fact that the person is observing the subject is taken into account, but also that the person himself is also the subject. Positive feedback appears, which helps to solve the problem of the absence of a specific goal. Imagine that a person decides to learn how to play a musical instrument. I went into the store, strummed on the guitar – not that, knocked on the drums – did not go in, took the bass and felt pleasure, continued to play. This is an example of positive feedback – there is no clear goal yet, the person has not yet chosen what to play, but one instrument has already been liked. The process of target selection based on positive feedback and recursion is second-order cybernetics.
Cybernetics of the third order takes into account the factor of a chaotic environment. Let’s go back to the music store and notice that in addition to instruments there are many other objects that can sound. For example, a trash can or a window sill. That is, in addition to the subjects and objects already ready for interaction in third-order cybernetics, there is also an environment that also affects what is in it. It acts as potential matter for future larval subjects.
Third-order cybernetics is the rhizomatic Internet of Web3, where people interact with programs, things, and people. Second-order cybernetics is the Web 2.0 Internet, where people interact with people.
4. Not only the French philosopher thought about this. Deleuze, indeed, laid the conceptual foundations of the Internet and even Web3. But to complete the picture, we need to supplement his ideas with Russian cosmism. Philosopher Vladimir Vernadsky introduced the concept of the noosphere – the planetary sphere of the mind, in which nature and society interact. Previously, it was just a theory, but now we have 5G towers, the Internet is transmitted over the air. Isn’t it time to think about how the atmosphere filled with the Internet can respond to people’s actions? About what else can be connected to it. Toothbrush? Pets?
5. Pterodactyls? We can think and predict quantitative changes. But we cannot predict qualitative changes. To do this, you need to free your imagination.
The future is built on innovations and inventions. Suppose tomorrow a scientist will revive pterodactyls and flying on them will become fashionable. The scope of tasks will completely change: you will have to take care that the Internet is distributed to the flight line with winged dinosaurs. Therefore, the future depends only on us – in the sense that we discover it through our imagination.
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DAO Politics is a series of podcasts from Forklog, in which we, together with invited experts, understand how decentralized autonomous organizations work, talk about their conceptual and technological foundations. The fourth issue is dedicated to Gilles Deleuze, one of the most radical decentralization theorists. Philosopher Ivan Belonogov talks about whether the co-author of “A Thousand Plateaus” invented the Internet and why it is important to train the power of imagination.
1. There are organizations – vertical and network. The former operate within the framework of an internal hierarchy, the latter are created according to the network principle. They are usually opposed to each other. In hierarchical organizations, personal status is of primary importance. The first question that arises in a new member of the hierarchical structure when addressing a colleague is: “What rank are you?”. If his status is lower than that of a beginner, then he should be spoken to as a subordinate. If higher, it is necessary to depict a trembling creature. That is, in hierarchies, people communicate not directly, but through their ranks. This type of organization is not the most effective, but in some situations it is indispensable. For example, when something critical, extraordinary happens and a high speed of decision-making is required.
In network organizations, the effects of ranks are much weaker. They differ from the hierarchy not in that there is no core at all, but in that there can be many of them. The node that accumulates the largest number of connections becomes the center. There is more freedom in the network: you can always switch from one center to another, for example, more suitable for tasks. However, there are limitations here: rules of conduct, often unspoken. If you don’t follow them, they won’t deal with you.
2. And there is a rhizome. This popular concept offered in 1976 by the French philosopher Gilles Deleuze. The rhizome is often referred to as a “mycelium” and is considered to be such a network. But this is not entirely true.
The network can survive several breaks: if a person deletes two out of five friends, then he will still have three more, through which he will be connected with news and trends. But in the event of a complete break in relations with everyone, a person will fall out of the network. The rhizome is arranged differently: in it, each node is dynamic, it grows out of itself and is able to be included in different configurations. If necessary, it will become part of a hierarchy or grow into a multi-core network. Such an organization is compared to the market. In the market, all nodes are single, they are initially autonomous and only at the next step can interact or compete with each other.
In a hierarchy, ranks and status are the most important. Abilities are quoted on the network, but statuses are also important. In the case of rhizome, the emphasis shifts to skills: how you are useful to others. Therefore, in a rhizomatic community, a person is constantly changing, adapting and relearning, thereby gaining freedom and independence. In the example of a network organization with five friends, it is clear that a person will try his best not to lose connection with the network, perhaps even going against himself, denying himself freedom. A rhizomatically thinking person is autonomous. Even if everyone leaves him, he will not lose contact with reality, continue his journey, find new communication nodes. Web3 is conducive to something similar.
3. The rhizome concept goes well with third order cybernetics. To understand the current Internet, let’s talk about its origins. Cybernetics of the first order is the cybernetics of one subject, the subject-object model. Her developed Norbert Wiener. The bottom line is that we observe something and study its properties based on negative feedbacks. This principle assumes that only the end goal is taken into account, and everything else is discarded. A good example: a person decided to buy an iPhone at the end of the month, so he will refuse any other expenses. Additional spending will not help him achieve his goal, so he avoids them.
Cybernetics of the second order is a subject-subject model. Not only the fact that the person is observing the subject is taken into account, but also that the person himself is also the subject. Positive feedback appears, which helps to solve the problem of the absence of a specific goal. Imagine that a person decides to learn how to play a musical instrument. I went into the store, strummed on the guitar – not that, knocked on the drums – did not go in, took the bass and felt pleasure, continued to play. This is an example of positive feedback – there is no clear goal yet, the person has not yet chosen what to play, but one instrument has already been liked. The process of target selection based on positive feedback and recursion is second-order cybernetics.
Cybernetics of the third order takes into account the factor of a chaotic environment. Let’s go back to the music store and notice that in addition to instruments there are many other objects that can sound. For example, a trash can or a window sill. That is, in addition to the subjects and objects already ready for interaction in third-order cybernetics, there is also an environment that also affects what is in it. It acts as potential matter for future larval subjects.
Third-order cybernetics is the rhizomatic Internet of Web3, where people interact with programs, things, and people. Second-order cybernetics is the Web 2.0 Internet, where people interact with people.
4. Not only the French philosopher thought about this. Deleuze, indeed, laid the conceptual foundations of the Internet and even Web3. But to complete the picture, we need to supplement his ideas with Russian cosmism. Philosopher Vladimir Vernadsky introduced the concept of the noosphere – the planetary sphere of the mind, in which nature and society interact. Previously, it was just a theory, but now we have 5G towers, the Internet is transmitted over the air. Isn’t it time to think about how the atmosphere filled with the Internet can respond to people’s actions? About what else can be connected to it. Toothbrush? Pets?
5. Pterodactyls? We can think and predict quantitative changes. But we cannot predict qualitative changes. To do this, you need to free your imagination.
The future is built on innovations and inventions. Suppose tomorrow a scientist will revive pterodactyls and flying on them will become fashionable. The scope of tasks will completely change: you will have to take care that the Internet is distributed to the flight line with winged dinosaurs. Therefore, the future depends only on us – in the sense that we discover it through our imagination.
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