Communicating Value

On Network Architectures

Communication networks, should balance efficiency and connectivity to avoid overcomplexity and high maintenance costs. Short channels are direct but limited, while longer chains are more extensive but risk fragility. Graph-like structures offer broad connectivity at a higher energy cost. Formal roles with clear attestations and curation within these networks are crucial to maintain clarity and prevent over-triangulation, which can complicate communications unnecessarily. Instead, favoring curated cycles or loops can sometimes streamline interactions and enhance the overall coherence of the network.

“How does communication relate to networks of pooled formal commitments?”

Each formalized commitment can be seen as both a node and edge of a graph. Both connecting pools and also being contained within pools. The ability to traverse by exchanging across the network of pools is akin to many forms of communication or information exchange. The routes between commitments via common networks of pools can also be seen as the space in which pools hold common commitments. These are media: channels and spaces of value flow. As in their nature and intention, formalized commitments may represent both the resource being valued, as well as a valuable connection to other resources being relatively valued by the pool network’s matrix of price vectors. Things that don't need to be valued against each other in some dimension are unlikely to be curated into the same pool.

“What does communication across humanity look like in terms of value flow?”

The analogy of communication networks to pools of formal commitments provides a framework for understanding how value flows and how information is communicated across networks in humanity. In these networks, each commitment serves as both a node and an edge, simultaneously representing a unit of value and a connection point between other nodes (like vouchers) within and across pools (markets). This flexibility allows pooled commitments to facilitate the exchange of value, much like information flows through a network.

Just as efficient and effective communication requires clear roles and structured paths to avoid unnecessary complexity and maintain clarity, networks of formal commitments benefit from similar organizational clarity. Formal roles and clear attestations -especially like those within pools that help determine relative value, within these networks ensure that each commitment's purpose and value are well-understood, reducing the potential for confusion or inefficiency in value transfer.

The architectures of these networks influences the flow of value. By avoiding overly triangulated structures, which can lead to convoluted and energy-intensive communication pathways, and instead favoring larger cycles or loops, the network optimizes the paths along which value and information travel. This streamlined approach through careful curation of pooled commitments, not only enhances the coherence of the network but also mirrors the way effective communication networks are structured to minimize noise and maximize clarity.

In this way, networks of formal commitments, like efficient communication networks, must carefully balance the complexity of interconnectedness with the need for clarity and efficiency in the pathways of value exchange. The nature or intention of these commitments — being both the valued nodes and the connectors between pools — is a system where the flow of value mirrors human communication, emphasizing the importance of holistic network design to facilitate clear, efficient, and meaningful exchanges.

The concept of care deeply intertwines with the curation of nodes (commitments formalized as vouchers) into pools, much like the stewardship of a garden. In metaphor, each commitment or voucher represents a plant within the garden—each requiring nurturing, attention, and specific conditions to thrive. The better if they can can communicate the relative value of their nutrients in order to make them exchangeable - (to provide these nutrients to each other) when in need - in a dynamic equilibrium (reciprocal flows). By carefully curating these commitments into valued pools, stewards—much like gardeners— cultivate a living ecosystem that sustains and enhances the holistic growth of each individual element.

Here's how you can formulate the final conclusion section of the article, encapsulating the critical aspects of commitment pooling and the role of formalized commitments as vouchers:

In summary

Commitment pooling aggregates individual promises or obligations into a collective resource (an instrument of an economic commons), significantly enhancing their utility and exchangeability across networks. Each voucher in a commitment pool is not just a transactional instrument but also a formal obligation by the issuer to provide specific goods or services, thereby becoming a bearer of trust and value. By formalizing these commitments as vouchers, entities transform informal promises into tangible assets that can be traded and redeemed, integrating them seamlessly into a holistic economic system.

Within this network, vouchers act as crucial nodes, each serving as a nexus of value that connects disparate elements of the market. This structure allows for more fluid and adaptable economic interactions, enabling a polycentric, dynamic and responsive economic landscape for resource coordination. Moreover, each voucher doubles as an edge in the network, underscoring its role in bridging different pools of commitments and facilitating a seamless flow of resources and services across the broader network.

To prevent overcomplexity and maintain efficiency, it is essential that the network's architecture supports clear definitions and recognitions of each voucher's role and value. The curation of pools of commitments necessitates a careful balancing act—ensuring that each commitment is both individually valuable and collectively harmonious within the pool. This strategic curation involves grouping similar commitments together while ensuring that each can fulfill its role without overwhelming the network's dynamics.

Maintaining a dynamic equilibrium within these networks involves continuous settlement of credit and debt, akin to how a gardener tends to plants, ensuring that each contributes to and benefits from a balanced ecosystem. Each formalized commitment as a voucher embodies a indelible reciprocal promise—issued with the assurance of redeem-ability, which is critical for sustaining trust and liquidity in the commitment pool network.

Through pooling formalized commitments we cultivate a robust, efficient, and trustworthy economic environment, echoing the principles and protocols of the ancestral economics seen in vast networks of rotational labor associations. This architecture ensures that value flows fairly and efficiently across a polycentric network.

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