I have realized that cultures are like operating systems. We are like hardware. The human animal is a piece of biological wetware/hardware

Cultures are boundary-defining engines; that’s what they do. They teach you: “We do it this way. Don’t go there—in your mind, in your heart. Follow the rules! Follow the rules!” Cultures are like operating systems. You know, at Ur and at—well, Ur will do—they set up a stele in the center of the marketplace, and on the stele they carved the laws.... See more

I digress but the main point is simple: the drivers of social coherence, such as culture, governance, morality, law, shared stories, and shared values might as well be considered “technologies”. These stories, at least as much as our manipulations of fire, matter, and information, sustain our relationships with one another and with the planet.... See more