Carlos Velásquez · Medium · 8 min read · Source: pixabay.com by Angela Rose (silhouette) / pexels.com by Roger Brown

Various analogies have been used to describe Bitcoin. References to gold, the internet, and evolution have been made to explain its value, adoption, and existence in a dangerous financial ecosystem consisting of predatory central bankers, politicians, and hackers.

Salsa dance would unlikely sit at the top of a blockchain enthusiasts’ analogy stack. Yet if one considers the circumstances from which Bitcoin and salsa dance emerged, similar (ahem) patterns appear.

Both resulted from a phenomenon social scientists refer to as Spontaneous Order — the spontaneous emergence of order out of disorder, randomness, stressors, and chaos.

In evolutionary biology, Spontaneous Order is known to result in the survival of the fittest. In other systems, such as Bitcoin and salsa dance, a similar phenomenon occurs. Individuals’ actions, driven by self-interest, lead to a state of equilibrium which increases the chances the system will survive. Decentralization being the principal prerequisite for Spontaneous Order to occur.

In other words, voluntary human action, not centralized human design, is at the core of this phenomenon.

Spontaneous Order inevitably creates systems that are more Antifragile than that which any individual, or nation, can create.

Let us consider how the emergence of two distinct systems exemplifies this powerful phenomenon.

Dispensing With The Need Of Conscious Control

“…those who clamor for ‘conscious direction’ — and who cannot believe that anything which has evolved without design (and even without our understanding it) should solve problems which we should not be able to solve consciously — should remember this: The problem is precisely how to extend the span of our utilization of resources beyond the span of the control of any one mind; and therefore, how to dispense with the need of conscious control, and how to provide inducements which will make the individuals do the desirable things without anyone having to tell them what to do.” ~ F. A. Hayek, The Use of Knowledge in Society. From Knowledge Management.

Bitcoin: Random and Chaotic

A 2008 White Paper randomly released by the pseudonymous author, “Satoshi Nakamoto”, initiated the adoption of Bitcoin’s decentralized open-source software protocol. It runs on an incentivized, yet completely voluntary, basis.

Bitcoin’s $300 billion market cap rests on the actions of thousands of independent miners who dedicate their computational power to, on a trial-and-error basis, compete to legitimize the authenticity of transactions embedded in the blockchain. It is this decentralized chaotic peer-to-peer authentication process that also awards newly minted bitcoins to miners, thereby incentivizing their cooperation.

Initially, Bitcoin was mostly known as the preferred currency of shady characters buying and selling illicit items on the dark web. In spite of (or perhaps due to) failed attempts by Bitcoin detractors to undermine the network, some of the most sophisticated investors now view Bitcoin not only as an investment with convex return potential and a viable store of value but also as a potential medium of exchange and perhaps even a stand-alone monetary system.

Bitcoin has come to embody these characteristics because it has proven, time and time again, that it is a currency that cannot be manipulated, even by the most powerful governments. Indeed, the Antifragility embedded in the blockchain network is chiefly the reason for Bitcoin’s meteoric rise in value.

A White Paper, decentralization, and Spontaneous Order induced by disorder and chaos resulted in Bitcoin.

Salsa Dance: Arrebatado

Eddie Torres, the “Mambo King”, introduced the NYC Style “1–2–3–5–6–7” count protocol to salseros several decades ago. In doing so, he converted a dance style that had originated from NYC’s spontaneous street salsa parties of the 70s into a more accessible dance form that salsa aficionados worldwide could more readily adopt.

Dance, such as the salsa genre, has always presented a means of personal expression. The “1–2–3–5–6–7” count, however, layered a protocol on top of this intuitive dance that can be used to more easily “decode”, if you will, a dance partner’s intentions.

Salsa dance moves are created on a trial-and-error basis; the associated counts are noted later. Similar to the manner musicians intuitively concoct music first, and write the notes later. After an inspired dancer creates moves and posts them online, the dance count protocol enables other dancers to adopt them— if they meet the decentralized salsa dance scene’s peer-to-peer authentication process (i.e. if the moves are any good).

The impromptu character of the various layers of the salsa dance genre creates the prerequisite disorder and controlled chaos — its “arrebatado” nature — in which the best dance artists can literally “shine” (salsero’s footwork).

A dance count, decentralization, and Spontaneous Order induced by disorder and chaos resulted in the worldwide adoption of salsa dance.

Show Me Your Proof-of-Work…and Guaguanco

Bitcoin miners, scattered around the world, provide the proof-of-work that legitimizes the existence of transactions to the rest of the network’s nodes.

Salseros’ proof-of-style / confidence / provocativeness, regardless of race or nationality, legitimizes their ability — their “guaguanco” — on any dance floor in the international salsa scene.

“If a majority of CPU power is controlled by honest nodes, the honest chain will grow the fastest and outpace any competing chains. To modify a past block, an attacker would have to redo the proof-of-work of the block and all blocks after it and then catch up with and surpass the work of the honest nodes. We will show later that the probability of a slower attacker catching up diminishes exponentially as subsequent blocks are added.” ~ Satoshi Nakamoto, 2008 White Paper

Given that the majority of the Bitcoin network nodes are “honest” (i.e. not hackers) and they control the majority of the computing power running the network, honest users can search for the longest blockchain and add transactions to it. The network nodes will then “proof” it. Each ensuing transaction makes the blockchain longer, and hence, exponentially harder to change by an attacker.

Salsa dance continues to evolve, increasingly incorporating dance techniques that are influenced by its Afrocuban roots. As influential dancers incorporate these techniques, their adoption outpaces those of older salsa dance techniques which often incorporate more rigid ballroom dance movements. As more students adopt the newer style of salsa dance, the evolving salsa dance style formulates the new building “blocks” of the dance, which are eventually accepted and incorporated by other dancers. The best salsa dance styles spread organically. The proof-of-guaguanco occurs, especially, when the most influential dancers mimic and teach these styles, making them harder to undo.

“If a greedy attacker is able to assemble more CPU power than all the honest nodes, he would have to choose between using it to defraud people by stealing back his payments, or using it to generate new coins. He ought to find it more profitable to play by the rules, such rules that favour him with more new coins than everyone else combined, than to undermine the system and the validity of his own wealth.” ~ Satoshi Nakamoto, 2008 White Paper

An attacker could, in theory, attempt to undo transactions in order to steal coins. Bitcoin’s antifragility to attacks, however, derives from the proof-of-work that is embedded in the blockchain which, if hacked, would undermine the value of the very coins an attacker could theoretically steal. In practice, an attacker will ultimately realize that the more efficient and profitable use of his/her time is to add to a legitimate blockchain, instead of spending resources in a fruitless attempt to steal a coin by undoing the proof-of-work.

Salseros with entrenched styles who are not amenable to evolving along with the dance can resist doing so. If they are instructors, they may even attempt to “redo” the newer styles practiced among their students. Dancers will eventually find more practical (and profitable if they are instructors) not to undermine the evolving styles, but to adopt them instead. Dancers will ultimately realize that undermining the very art form they enjoy (or gain their livelihood from) could come at the expense of being considered a relic of the past.

Had centrally-controlled systems using third-party intermediaries — i.e. bankers and dance pundits—regulated or managed the blockchain and the salsa dance “proof of work” protocol, entrenched agendas would have prevented Bitcoin and salsa dance from thriving. (Example: refer to the long list of countries that failed to keep a stable currency.)

Stressors Lead To “Antifragilidad”

A few years ago, the Bitcoin community fought back attempts to change the network’s consensus rules. The community continuously innovates to ward off hackers. Governments’ attempts to ban and censor Bitcoin have failed. Consequently, users have gained exceedingly more confidence in Bitcoin; its adoption and value thereby further increasing.

Successful defenses against events that have “stressed” Bitcoin’s blockchain system have set in motion a virtuous cycle that has made Bitcoin Antifragile.

Similarly, competition in the salsa scene motivates its participants to improve and innovate. Influences from diverse dance styles such as Bachata and Zouk help dancers who dabble in these dances become better all-around salseros. Circling the wagons against unwelcomed sex advances makes the salsa scene safe and enjoyable. Most recently, the slew of online class options has created conditions that will strengthen the salsa scene in the long run.

The more popular and talented salsa instructors will likely remain employed by servicing their worldwide Zoom-enabled student base during the COVID-19 shutdown. The employed, on average, will be the better instructors. They will gain an even larger student base. Students will benefit from their teachings. And the salsa dance scene, in the long run, will benefit overall.

The unfortunate economic reality COVID-19 will have on some salsa instructors has put Spontaneous Order back into full gear, which will lead to the survival of the “fittest” among them.

But similar to the positive results that stressors have had on Bitcoin, the salsa dance scene as a whole will thrive and even improve because

Spontaneous Order also sows the seeds of a system’s continued success.

Bitcoin and salsa dance, as a result, will not only thrive.

They will remain Antifragile.

Author also wrote: N. Taleb’s Minority Rule | Your Inner Voice | Bitcoin’s Volatility | Blockchain Stocks | 50 Investment Lessons | Flywheel Effect | Bitcoin: Mental Framework | Crypto Moonshots | 4 Crypto Stocks | Bitcoin: Insurance | Brief History: Money | Ackman’s $2.6B Moonshot | Fragility Inducing Events | Antifragile: Definition | 1% Bitcoin: 99% Cash | COVID-19: Market

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Disclaimer: Topics covered herein are for informational purposes. Before acting on investment information consult with a financial professional. Bitcoin is a volatile and speculative investment. Salsa dance is fun; you might get hooked!