Obseissive Minority

[First published on Cent]

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

~Margaret Mead

"Revolutions are unarguably driven by an obsessive minority. And the entire growth of society, whether economic or moral, comes from a small number of people."

~ Nassim Nicholas Taleb

If Cent is thought of as a system, then we can say that it is the emergent result of all the interactions that take place between all the parts that comprise Cent, so every user and every feature.

The interactions between all of these parts are what really matters in determining what Cent is today and what it will be tomorrow. And there are some super simple rules that all interactions can obey.

One of those rules is the minority rule, or what Nassim Nicholas Taleb calls the mother of all asymmetries. Essentially what that means is any minority group can dictate the culture and preferences that the majority abides by *if* the minority group has some significant skin (or soul) in the game such that their numbers are above a certain trivial percentage of the overall population.

While the claim that a small number of people could potentially hijack a society and turn it into something it doesn't want to be sounds frightening, in the context of Cent and any other newly emerging digital community, the minority rule actually seems to offer amazing hope and promise.

I think a few of us can see the future that could be possible if Cent remains committed to compensating those who add creative value while growing a community of thoughtful users. That would represent a complete social evolution from where the world is now.

So if the minority rule actually has any legs, as long as a small group of us continues to obsess about being thoughtful and instilling that value in other users while tipping, seeding and bountying (i.e. literally keeping our skin in the game) we will turn that future vision into a reality.

But we need to be mindful of the other groups competing against us. On the one hand we have mediocrity, you know, users like @Kamran who add valueless replies. On the other hand are other obsessives, those who don't hold our values, but are trying, through brute force, to make it seem like they are a major presence or influence within Cent. Then there are the traditional social networks and payment channels.

I'm in it to win it though. Are you?

Ok. Rant over. Now it's time to get back to 'Skin in the Game' before I pass out - god what a damn good book.