Illusions, delusions and self-learning

This Steem city that we are slowly building has many options involved and many roads to take for users. It doesn't really matter if one is an investor, developer or a contributor, there are multiple directions that are possible and there are ways that are hybrids of each as well as paths that can run concurrently. This creates a lot of complexity and often, there is too much information and options for most people to get a good grasp of what is going on and when viewing the positions of others, this winds up becoming a great deal of assumptions that aren't always the most informed. We are all learning though aren't we?

Learning obviously depends on the person and their willingness to get their minds dirty in areas that they might not feel very comfortable at all and, would rather avoid if there is the chance. There is always the chance to avoid learning, there are always multiple distractions and always a cost to pay for investing into one thing over the other. At the end of the day, it is up to each of us to improve our own experience of the world and nobody can do much other than potentially provide some information, advice or a different perspective. No one can do the learning for you.

It doesn't really matter what one finds important, there are always a large number of factors that influence and affect us even if we are unaware of what they are. While we go about our normal business each day there is a mass of information that passes us by to the sides that we cannot use, opportunities missed or distraction, without attention we can never really know.

I have used the example before where a person could be on the bus staring at their phone looking for connection while the love of their life is sitting next to them doing the same. Without lifting heads, how are they ever going to make eye contact and have a chance to discover each other?

In many ways I find that content contributors tend to do the same, they stay in, create for and consume from their niche without lifting their heads to really understand the larger environment in which their sector operates. Yes, it is complex and should be simplified but if an individual isn't getting the results they want by doing what they are doing, who's responsibility is it to change? It is pretty obvious.

Change however is rarely going to lead to where we want it to go if we still don't understand the ecosystem we operate in, if we are reliant on others for all of our information and especially if our view is narrow without considering how a wide selection of people are using and changing the environment. There is a fair bit of learning involved in this but at the same time, there is a fair bit of upside potential. People are happy to do the learning at school with promise of future employment even though the reality is changing daily.

How difficult is it to read a blog or two on the nature of the platform, understand how some of the dApps work, staking, markets or the FUD that affects them? How hard is it to join into conversations with people who have specialized in various areas, to read the comments under blogs and follow links in posts to glean a better understanding of the system that affects our experience here? For many, it seems very difficult and while they might not be enjoying themselves, they see others having a good time and it hurts.

We often talk about content of value here but without understanding how the system works and how people use it, how can a content creator understand what is valuable to the audience. What ends up happening is that people put out what they believe is valuable without consideration for what others might and then have an expectation they should be rewarded for it. In many ways it is a type of arrogance. It isn't a fun discovery to realize how arrogant and blind we can be, I know it well enough.

It is very easy to feel justified in our approach though because our intuition tells us that we are doing right, doing good and offering what is valuable. Intuition is a terrible indicator unless it is born from a vast and diverse range of experience that has been sorted and considered. Well, most people trust their intuition without ever looking for the fallacies that are inherent in the system and act on them, beating head against wall expecting the wall to give in.

The problem with all of this is that we feel that the way we act and what we provide the community is always undervalued, while we look at others doing what we don't care about getting more appreciation. We read their blogs or comments and assume that that is all there is to them. This is another fallacy. I think that if people were completely visible in this system many would be surprised at the sheer volume of walk some people are achieving behind the scenes, the years of learning and continual investment it has taken and still they are struggling to earn or get traction.

It is getting better though, which is a strange thing to say considering the views some give and price itself, but it really is. The conversations are changing, the communities are developing and the key users are still here putting their work in daily to realize a future they imagine and are trying to create. For the most part though, most users who will benefit from Steem are going to be dragged there kicking and screaming and are unlikely to ever acknowledge the background work that led to their success.

This is the way of the world it seems, at least for now. Perhaps one day though as information and lives become much more traceable and immutable, the true track records of people are going to be seen and I think there would be quite a few surprises in the view. At the end of the day though, we each have to live in our own lives and take responsibility for our perspective of it. While some people are complaining about the state of affairs and fairness, others are working toward improving things.

There is nothing wrong with criticism and complaint but at the same time one has to understand that the criticism and complaint is always from their perspective and therefore, subject to the limitation and bias inherent in personal position. The beauty of Steem is there is a mass of stuff available to learn and benefit from but not everyone is going to see the value. No one need read, comment or vote however, no one is forced to do anything here, which is the idea behind a community of volunteers.

This place is much more than most individuals give it credit for but, how can one know if only looking at slices of it through personal filters? I find this place very engaging and interesting which is why I have spent so much time playing around in various areas. I still have a lot of gaps to fill and at the speed it is expanding I always will but, that is the adventure, no one can say with any accuracy where it will all lead and for me, that uncertainty is opportunity and excitement. Many look for certainty and stability but unless one is able provide it for themselves, it is an illusion.

Maybe it is all an illusion. None can say.

Taraz
[ a Steem original ]

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