On Growing Up: Part 2

Specialization REQUIRES community. If you can't do everything yourself, you need a community to support you.

Community ENCOURAGES specialization. If you are a member of a community, you can focus on developing your skillset to the benefit of the community.

Specialization leads to commerce. I'll trade my skill for yours!

A specialist without a community is DEAD, sooner or later.

Dangers of overspecialization: you die faster outside the community.

Sex-based differences lead to the smallest, simplest communities: families.

Commerce leads to Currency. If we can agree on a system of value (valuta), then our exchanges are simplified. Barter becomes complicated when several parties are involved.

But any item only has value because we AGREE it has value. All currency, whether gold or paper, has only the value we agree that it has. All currency is fiat currency.

As skill in a specialization increases, the time to perform a task decreases (within limits). Therefore, the less time the specialist needs to spend on a task, the more his time is worth.

The process of learning and teaching may lead inevitably to guilds. One teacher and her students have different techniques and methods than another teacher and his students, and all it takes is one teacher who refuses to share his work.