Read_877 - Once in a Species

Apr 18, 2025

Explore the intriguing idea that humanity's dominance may stem from our obsession with rare objects. Dive into the evolutionary roots of money, revealing how early art and scarce commodities shaped civilization. Discover the genetic mutation that enhanced social cooperation and abstract thought in Homo sapiens. Connect the dots between economics and anthropology, challenging traditional theories with fresh insights. Plus, find hidden Bitcoin rewards sprinkled throughout the discussion for a fun twist!

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ADVICE

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INSIGHT

Humans' Unique Brain Wiring

Humans have an overdeveloped brain wiring that enhances abstract thought and valuation of scarce commodities.
This unique wiring fueled behaviors like collecting rare seashells, setting us apart from Neanderthals.

INSIGHT

Shell Beads as Proto-Money

Archaeological evidence shows Homo sapiens sapiens were prolific collectors of shell bead jewelry; Neanderthals rarely engaged in this behavior.
This difference reveals a critical behavioral quirk: valuing scarcity deeply, which likely led to proto-money usage.

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"This over-developed brain wiring supercharged our interest in scarce assets and our drive to obtain them. Behaviorally, this may have amounted to making us weirdos who collected seashells, simply because we couldn’t help but value their special rarity. But as we’ll explore, that odd behavioral quirk may have made all the difference for our species." — Jesse Myers

What if the secret to humanity’s dominance wasn’t intelligence or brute strength, but a weird obsession with rare objects? Today we dive into a new and wildly interesting piece from Jesse Myers’ that tries to piece together evidence from pre-ancient history that may explain not only the importance of money in civilization, but that it may be more fundamental to the existence of our species than we even realize.Tune in as we dive into the evolutionary roots of money, the power of abstract thought, and what it all means for the future of value.

Check out the original article: Once in a Species by Jesse Myers (Link: https://www.onceinaspecies.com/p/once-in-a-species-73b)

Links Mentioned in This Episode

Jesse Myers’ Substack (Link: https://substack.com/@jessemyers)
Nick Szabo’s "Shelling Out" (Link: https://nakamotoinstitute.org/library/shelling-out/)
Robin Dunbar’s research on Dunbar’s Number (Link: https://tinyurl.com/3d8e5fwc)
"I, Pencil" (Link: https://tinyurl.com/yc2m7zmn)
The Bushidoo of Bitcoin: A Code of Virtue for a World on a New Economic Standard by Aleksandar Svetski (Link: https://www.bushidoofbitcoin.com/)
Why the Yuppie Elite Dismiss Bitcoin (Link: https://tinyurl.com/hx5rddy2)

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