"A finite game is played for the purpose of winning, an infinite game for the purpose of continuing the play." — James P. Carse (Finite and Infinite Games)
Infinite games.
Long-term games.
Positive-sum games.
Not too long ago, if you'd have asked me to explain what any of the above meant, I'd have no idea what you were talking about.
Now, I play them every day.
“No one can play a game alone. One cannot be human by oneself. There is no selfhood where there is no community. We do not relate to others as the persons we are; we are who we are in relating to others." — James P. Carse
I can't claim deep technical understanding of Web 3.0, decentralized finance, or what a smart contract can and can't do, but the people who can are building things that are changing the way the world works, and redefining opportunity for us all in the process.
From platforms that are creating new markets for creative work and new mediums for creators, to the ground up redesign of every component of global financial infrastructure — the transition to open, trustless, and permissionless networks will turn us all into players of infinite games.
The ability to build social and economic connections by participating in markets of our own design is only increasing (thank you, Mirror).
To encapsulate this historic transition, I minted a single edition Visualize Value piece:
In the spirit of infinite games, the proceeds of the auction will be redistributed evenly among the ETH addresses that have supported my work to date. Thank you all.
I hope you enjoy this piece, and more importantly — experience what it represents for yourself.
To infinite games.