The Devolution of Authenticity

Life is complicating. All around us systems, technology, infrastructure, even day to day life are complicating before our eyes. Time is scarce, the most common response to "hey how are you," is "busy." Progress is complicated. We're in the midst of a devolution of authenticity. 

Systems complicate over time naturally, and we can use entropy as a baseline. But we can be more precise in our analysis of this complication when looking through the lens of knowledge and technology. Technology isn't simplifying it's getting more complicated. The solutions are more derived. Institutions follow the same trend. They get more complicated over time. Think about the modern house. In it exists modems, routers, charging ports, solar roofing panels, smart Tv's, security systems, and a host of appliances, most of which didn't exist just 50 years ago. Think about the tax code and our government. Laws passed nowadays operate through 100 or so beauacracies. The bills themselves are 500+ pages long. For reference, the constitution for the entire nation is less than 50 pages. The tax code is now so complicated that there are entire masters degrees devoted to understanding it. There's often a financial cost associated just to file your taxes, or pay someone to do it for you. 

Think about communication. Communication used to be face to face. Then the added layer of the telephone created some complexity. Next was email and instant messaging. Now we have social media and text. With any given individual you could be communicating with them in 8 different ways simultaneously. We say this gives us "ease of communication," but does it? Or does it add increasing layers of commitment and responsibility? All of which have a time cost associated. You cannot operate in most functionally social societies now without having at least 1-2 forms of social media, a smart phone, and a computer with email access. 

In a typical 8 hour work day you will spend 4 hours responding to emails. That leaves 4 hours for creation. That's a 50% reduction from a once pure system. Now granted there have been time savers like excel and video conferencing but increasingly, email and instant messaging detract from creative durations. These creative endeavors are manifestations of authenticity. Creation is always authentic. If something is new it is by default authentic. And this gets to my thesis. As systems complicate, authenticity is diluted. 

Look at bodybuilding. There was the Golden Era of bodybuilding where guys were unique. Some had big lats like Franco Columbo. Some had amazing proportions like Frank Zane. Some had huge chests like Arnold while others had huge legs like Tom Platz. Now the guys are virtually indistinguishable. Huge masses of steroids. Look at automobiles. There was the Golden Era of JDM and Euro markets. Cars like the Silvia, R34, AE86, M3, 911 Turbo. Even before that there was the 50's-60's era of Camaro's, Corvette's, Impala's, Plymouth's, El Camino's. Different bright colors, blue and orange. Nowadays we have the Camry, the Corolla, the Altima, the Elantra. Grey, Silver, White, Black. An assembly line of virtually identical, underpowered, comfort laden, plastic ridden, machines to get from point A to point B. Finally, look at movies. What used to be a marketplace filled with originals like Spaghetti Westerns, James Bond, Scorsese, Nolan or Tarantino films have now devolved into a mass marketing machine built around Marvel and Disney, limited in story and maximized in mind numbing outrageous CGI.

In all cases, the task was originally novelty, art. But now it is market share, mass production, and institutionalization. This is what systems do by nature, they devolve into mediocrity. They complicate and pull in a hundred different directions, and with it, they lose authenticity. Cities do this, as told best by the incredibly astute book, "The Death and Life of Great American Cities" by Jane Jacobs. The devolution of authenticity is more than a phenomenon, it's a principle. 

Finally turning the corner, we have enough evidence and examples to prove the conceptual legitimacy of the claim, but we've arrived at the logical next step and where my thesis begins and ends. This devolution of authenticity applies to us as well. To a human. 

As life gets more complicated it pulls us in more directions, new directions. You can only know so many things, you can only specialize in so many disciplines. It's why we all move to 5 major cities to work for 10 major companies as "analysts." It's why we now have MBA's and General Business Degrees. Peter Thiel, founder and CEO of PayPal, lays this out perfectly in "Zero to One." Each new direction you're pulled in comes with a cost. There is a financial cost, to you, for dealing with such things: the internet bill, the phone bill, the plumbing bill, the roofing bill, the electricity bill, the cloud storage bill. There's also a time cost associated with each: setup a LinkedIn because you need it to find a high paying job, 1 hour. Look into routers because you are moving into a new apartment and must get one, 2 hours. Go get your iPhone screen fixed at the Apple Store, 2 hours. Dental appointment, dermatology appointment, checkup, colonoscopy, bloodwork. 15 hours. 

Society and the individual are antitheses. They are yin and yang. Culture strives for conformity and consensus. Exhibiting behavior that is culturally appropriate is how you are culturally acceptable. The individual is based on authenticity. What does he or she enjoy. What drives them. How do they spend their time and what do they become proficient at. As more variables are added to life, and as it complexifies, we are pulled in ways that makes authenticity harder to maintain. We're fighting money, time, and culture.

As the year 2021 progresses this devolution of authenticity continues to seep into our young adults. Conformity is normalcy. If you didn't post a black square on your Instagram or thought twice about wearing a mask you were outcast like a leper. One of the reasons for the exceptional rise in podcasters like Joe Rogan or internet lecturers like Jordan Peterson or odd interest communities like Chess, Crypto Investing and climbing, is that authenticity is scarce and scarcity drives value. Value is also ascribed to things that are good. As stated earlier, the individual and society are antitheses. Humans have a deep desire to be individualistic; to live as freely and as authentically with as few limitations as they can have. This is what drove tens of millions to America. And every inch that we give up, every 15 minute chore or $25/month subscription or prescribed social media post or corporate training, dilutes that authenticity. It devolves. It dies. For those who wish to retain their autonomy and regain their authenticity, we must push back on the urban sprawl-like properties of conformity and culture. We must "Celebrate Diversity" of thought and experience, not skin color. We must question authority. We must act intentionally. We must look for contrarian ideas and reason from first principles. And we must introspect on what it is that drives us individually, seek that out relentlessly and make no apologies for prioritizing authenticity.