Makers and Takers
Initially, there were individuals. They were new to their environment, and only took what they needed. They were takers. Some realized they weren’t suited to just take; they made something new with what others took. They were makers. The makers made and made, and of course takers took what the makers made, because what makers made usually improved upon what they took. The takers now took from their environment and what the makers made. This couldn’t continue, however. The takers began making from what they took, what the makers made. A new layer emerged; takers took from makers who took from takers who took from makers, but even this was not sustainable. There was a taker who only took and never made; how was he to continue taking without anything in return? He could only take as well as any other. It was then he began to also make from what he took, and traded with those who made, for they made from what they took. One neither took nor made, or so he thought, but told takers how to take and makers how to make. Thus, he became another maker. Makers continued like this, in a manner that may seem entirely sustainable, but they couldn’t. One day a maker found he couldn’t make again. He’d run out of things to make, but the taker who makes told him to merely make what others make. So the maker made what another made, but he made it faster, stronger, cheaper, and the takers who took from the other maker now took from him. Thus even makers who only took at the lowest level began to take from other makers at the highest. Some takers now even told makers how to make to get more takers, and thus they made. Now takers took, makers made, takers took from makers who made, makers took from takers who took from makers who made, takers made without taking, takers told makers how to make and takers how to take, and some makers even made what others made. In the end, lines blurred; makers took, makers made, takers took, takers made, but there were no great takers who only took nor makers who only made.
I’m Zain Shah, a student in Neuroscience and CS at the University of Pittsburgh, an avid hacker, and a researcher in computational neuroscience and AI at CMU’s Center for Neural Basis of Cognition. If you liked this, discuss it on Hacker News, consider following me on twitter @zan2434 , checking out other posts of mine like Communist Principles in Design and learning more about me at zainshah.net