Magic, belief systems + web3

I’ve always thought of magic in two ways; there’s performative magic and belief magic.

You can see the line I’m drawing between the act or art of belief magic and what it means to be working in any emergent technology space; especially this emergent space we call web3, trying to build all three elements at once from the ashes of past scenes that didn’t feel so magical.

magical knowledge tends to be passed from person to person, rather than disseminated top down.

belief magic is ultimately decentralised and community-led

As the ruler was seen to subvert nature, as some would have it, we also see an incredible outpouring of the supernatural in the cultural artefacts of the era, from Prospero in the Tempest, to Dr Faustus, the Witch of Edmonton, and many more.

At its heart, belief magic is a combination of community knowledge + solidarity networks + folklore.

By community knowledge, I mean beliefs, truths and cures passed down over time.

By solidarity networks, I mean acting with trust, in small self-selecting groups.

By folklore, I mean the ritualistic repetition of the first to build the second.

Why have institutions such as the church and the state always been so threatened by magic? Part of the answer derives from who practices it; again, there are few robust studies of the trials, but less than 15% of those executed were men. Often the women prosecuted were unmarried and intelligent, while lacking the formal education given to their mal... See more