If you’ve been on the internet in the last year, you’ve heard about NFTs. And if you’ve heard about them but don’t know what they are, you’re not alone. NFTs are Non-Fungible Token. There are an endless amount of types of NFTs, but you’re probably most familiar with digital artwork such as the Beeple that sold for $69 million.
Yep, that’s right. $69 MILLION.
Aside from the Beeple, there are an insane amount of NFTs being sold for 10s of thousands of dollars or millions. Some of the most popular are from the CryptoPunk series, which is basically just 8-bit art. In fact, this one sold for $11.8 million.
As with any new thing that becomes a trend, people take notice and have no clue what’s going on, and NFTs are no different. Since the rise in popularity of NFTs, the jokes have been rolling in because it seems ridiculous. And don’t get me wrong, I think it’s ridiculous too because I can’t imagine spending that kind of money on a piece of digital art. But people don’t seem to get it, and one of the most common jokes are the fact that you can screenshot an NFT.
While it’s funny, I realized people really aren’t getting it when I saw aspiring philosopher Liam Bright tweet this:
I love Liam, but when philosophers don’t get it, I realized we need to have a discussion. First, we need to chat about essentialism.
What is Essentialism?
Let’s start with a little thought experiment.
Your great great great grandma immigrated here and was wearing a ring. That ring has been passed down through generations and is to never leave the family, and now it’s yours. The last thing your dying family member says to you as they give it to you is, “Don’t let anything happen to this ring.”
One day, you somehow get a hold of a machine that makes exact replicas of anything you put in it. When you put the ring in, it duplicates every single atom, so it’s a perfect match. But when you create the duplicate, it destroys the original.
Would you do it?
You’re probably thinking, “Of course not!”. And that’s essentialism. That ring is not just a ring, it has an essence to it. Our brains have a supernatural belief that the original ring has some sort of irreplaceable essence to it that makes it special. To anyone outside of your family, it’s just a ring, but not to you and your family.
It’s the same thing with art. Would you rather have the original or a perfect forgery where nobody can tell the difference? You want the original because you know it came from that artist. The artist put their brush to canvas and created that thing. So, it’s no longer about how it looks; it’s the essence behind it.
NFTs are no different.
And if you want to learn more about essentialism, I was first introduced to it in the incredible book How Pleasure Works by Yale Psychologist Paul Bloom, and another great book is Supersense by Bruce Hood.
Well That’s Dumb
Now you might be saying, “But it’s not the same! It’s digital.” Well, it still carries the same essence. If Picasso was alive today and made an NFT that can’t be faked or duplicated due to blockchain technology, do you think anyone would care about the medium of the art? Not a chance.
Personally, I think all art and collectibles are ridiculous, and you may totally disagree. That’s fine. But you need to understand that there are millions of people who would look at what you find valuable as quite silly as well.
There are insane markets for collectible sports memorabilia, and people pay large sums for items owned by celebrities. No matter what it is, it’s just a thing that we attach an essence to because it’s in our human nature to have whacky supernatural beliefs.
Then, there’s the whole conversation about how things are only as valuable as we think they are. One story that’s told quite often is the story of the Mona Lisa. This is one of the most famous pieces of art out there, but it didn’t start that way. The Mona Lisa was completely irrelevant when it was painted, but after an art theft and the story around it, only then did it become so valuable.
We also need to understand that people buy dumb things for signaling and status as well. When you’re able to blow a large amount of money on any piece of art, you’re signaling to others that you have enough disposable wealth to waste money on dumb things. And if art isn’t your thing, think about clothes or cars. People don’t always buy these for the function; they buy them because of what it signals to others.
At the end of the day, we’re a strange species that places value on weird things that really don’t matter. It’s 2021, and technology isn’t going anywhere, and NFTs are just one of the latest advances that people find value in. While you might not be one of those people, there are plenty of other useless things you find value in, and that’s cool because you’re just like the rest of us.
Now, you have two options. You can look at NFTs like I do, which is the same way I look at art, collectibles, and other useless things. Or, if you’re an investor, now you know why people pay dumb amounts of money for stuff like this, and maybe you can start a side hustle of flipping NFTs.
I’ve been working on organizing all the books I’ve read, and I have multiple lists of books on becoming a better thinker. There are lists for education, social issues, critical thinking, self-deception, and biases. For the rest of the categories, click here.
I’m always open for a conversation and to be shown what I might be missing or where I may be wrong, so feel free to email me at TheRewiredSoul@gmail.com