Embrace Opposites
... Cause they attract like MAGNETS
I have been thinking about NFTs ALOT. If you have no idea what NFTs are well, here is my best explanation. An NFT is a Non Fungible Token for example the picture in your wallet of the one time you and your siblings went to Niagara Falls (GOOD TIMES) is a Non-Fungible Token. Essentially it means one of one, an original, in Naija we say “no be okrika.” The opposite of a Non-Fungible Token is a Fungible token aka something like dollars or cents. You can exchange $1 for another $1 and you really do not care what the dollar looks like as long as you get $1 back
There is more that goes into this whole idea but there are much smarter people than people that can explain this. So check out Tolu and Kyla; two people that are much smarter than I am and have written great blog posts on this and maybe you learn or you get as confused as I have been.
Anyway, I have been thinking about them a lot recently mainly because of things like this:
Yes those really exist, but it gets even more crazy:
If you wanna see a list of the most expensive JPEGs …. I’m sorry NFTs ever sold go here.
But the thing is I can say it is crazy because:
I have grown up with Google and the ability to copy and paste any image that has ever been posted on the internet. So to me there is no such thing as a 1 of 1 JPEG
I do not have the money to even start to make sense of any of it so it seems so foreign to me. Like watching athletes or celebrities blow $3000 for a bottle of alcohol. It makes no sense to me at all.
However, I have been trying (keyword: TRYING) to read a book called Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. IT was recommended by my guy, Tolu and from all the synopsis I have read of the book, there are a lot of great insights talked about in it. However, one key idea that is talked about in the book is just because I think something is true does not mean the opposite is not also true at the exact same time. (Now you see why I am TRYING to read the book. So HARD).
Here is what I mean. I want you to answer this on instinct. Don’t start going all deep on me at this point. I need your primal initial reaction.
When you first saw this picture before reading the lines above, WHAT DID YOU SEE?
Did you see ICE?
Did you see WATER?
(Hit me up in the comments, IG, Twitter. To let me know what you saw)
I personally, saw a cup of ice. One question I am learning to ask a bit more is WHY?
I think the reason I saw a cup of ice is coming to the US from Nigeria, when my mom asked me to bring her a cup of water; ice was never added. Even for my personal self when I drink water, most of the time ice is never added. However; when I am with friends and they get drinks all I see in there cup is ICE with a side of drink.
My point is viewpoint matters.
Perspective matters.
How we see the world matters.
I stopped looking at NFTs either as a ridiculous fantasy brought up by a bunch of Crypto millionaires with too much money and too much time on their hands. Or as a way for Digital artist to profit off of their work.
BUT RATHER AS BOTH
Here is a crazy stat for you: 400 YEARS!
That is how long it took for the Mona Lisa to become the MONA LISA. The painting that is worth more than most of us reading this post combined and then a whole heck of a lot more. The fact that I knew I could just saw “Mona Lisa” and everyone knows exactly what I am talking about is CRAZY!!
I am pretty sure that there were people in those times like myself who looked at these artist and thought, “What is so special about these paintings? Why would anyone pay so much for them? This makes NO SENSE!”
On the other hand, there were those who could afford to hire the artists and pay them to just create. Which ended up providing some of the architecture for the products we use today. See Leonardo Da Vinci’s various inventions:
In order for Da Vinci to be able to allow his mind to wonder and create some of these things. He needed funding to do nothing other than sit and think for hours on end. His paintings allowed for that. The rich rulers who funded Da Vinci, for whatever reason appreciated his work. But I think more importantly; needed ways to express their power and their wealth.
It is in human nature to show off our most prized possession. Side note to all the ladies who read this: if a dude ain’t trying to boast about you to people, something is UP. At least that is my personal take, cause if that same dude is willing to post about his cars, sports teams, etc. Why not what should the most important part of his life? But then again your relationship might be different so factor that in as well.
Point is much like peacocks with their feathers. Human flaunt as well. And we will pay to FLAUNT as much as possible: see prices of Gucci, Prada, Luis Vitton, etc.
However on the other hand by creating an economy that allows creatives to do nothing other than think and create. So of the most beautiful things can come from it.
In the world of NFTs, I keep thinking about the technologies that are beginning to be brought to life with the ideas of an NFT. Read Kyla’s article which references a bunch of possibilities. Read Tolu’s article on the possibility of less ambiguity in society and more direct outcomes.
Point of this whole post, is simply this.
There are a lot of times in life when there two ideas that completely oppose each other. We have to find the means to see things from other perspectives and not just our own. Because most of the times, the reality is both ideas have truths in them and the best solutions come from merging both ideas into one. Removing the extremes and focusing on the goals to be accomplished.
Learning to hold conflicting ideas at the same time will serve you well in this marathon, we call LIFE!
Remember Generosity > greed
God Bless Each and Everyone of Y'all
✌🏾
-Kelechi
I saw ice.
Great piece Kelechi. I still struggle with the idea of NFTs, but I think it has a market here in the US, because there's a culture of attaching sentimental value to properties.
Your insight on funding creatives so they can just create is spot on, otherwise there would be no invention or development.