Basal Modus
SubscribeMarkets
- Zillow Removes Climate Risk Scores From Home Listings
- How the brain decides what to remember: with a virtual reality-based behavioral model in mice, the scientists discovered that long-term memory is orchestrated by key regulators that either promote memories into progressively more lasting forms or demote them until they are forgotten
- Dignitas founder ends his own life through assisted death
- Swiss voters reject proposed tax on super rich
- Polish President cancels meeting with Orban following his visit to Putin
- Swiss voters reject mandatory national service for women
- Daughter of former South African president resigns from parliament amid investigation into Russian military recruitment scheme
- Nvidia’s Jensen Huang urges employees to automate every task possible with AI
- Fed Up With the Taliban, Pakistan Expels Masses of Afghans.
- The Disastrous Maya Collapse Knocked Down an Entire Network of Cities in Mesoamerica. When the central lowlands were hit by drought, this may have triggered a cascading series of crises: wars between cities over resources, the collapse of royal dynasties, mass migrations, disruption of trade routes
- Autistic adults show higher rates of self-harm and suicide plans regardless of trauma history. As many as 1 in 4 autistic people reports suicide attempts across their lifetime and autistic people have a higher likelihood of adverse life experiences
- Should kidfluencers be banned? That’s the plan in the EU | Few laws exist about kidfluencing, and experts says Canada needs to create one
- Putin signs decree formalizing Russification of occupied Ukraine through 2036
- Walmart celebrates automation as US job cuts reach multiyear high
- Major AI conference flooded with peer reviews written fully by AI
Asset Classes
Equity Indices
Dollar Strength
Commodities
Crypto
Research
2024
The simplest and most accurate way to think about systems is as structures designed to persist across time. For both individuals and organizations, persistence is fundamentally about maintaining relevance and continuity within a broader context. This drive can be seen as a form of programming—biological, cultural, or organizational—manifesting through strategies, structures, and adaptations aimed at survival.
Abstractions, such as “freedom” or “democracy,” serve as the conceptual cores of systems. These are not self-sufficient; they require reconciliation through rules and shared participation to transition into operational realities. Systems often overlap and nest, forming complex webs of dependencies, much like interconnected ecosystems. This layering allows for both stability and evolution, where contradictions act as tension points that either strengthen or dismantle the system.
Network effects amplify the power of systems. The more participants align with a system, the stronger its influence and resilience. Systems with tangible anchors—real-world utilities like infrastructure or healthcare—tend to thrive over purely imagined constructs, though the latter can profoundly shape societies when tied to collective aspirations.
Companies are specialized systems, leveraging abstractions like “profit” or “value creation” to direct resources toward specific goals. Their success lies in their ability to integrate into broader networks while ensuring their own survival. Scale is not the ultimate measure; impact within interconnected systems is.
Ultimately, persistence across all systems, from biological to imagined, reflects a singular logic: to endure. Change arises as systems evolve to resolve contradictions or adapt to new realities. The key to progress lies in sustaining efforts toward coherence, adaptability, and collective benefit—ensuring the enduring vitality of the human experience and the structures we create.
For the individual, this framework offers insight into navigating complexity: participation in systems often requires reconciling personal desires with the broader needs of the collective. The challenge lies in balancing immediate contributions with the enduring mechanics of systems—whether biological, cultural, or economic.
Locke