"This over-developed brain wiring supercharged our interest in scarce assets and our drive to obtain them. Behaviorally, this may have amounted to making us weirdos who collected seashells, simply because we couldn’t help but value their special rarity. But as we’ll explore, that odd behavioral quirk may have made all the difference for our species." — Jesse Myers

What if the secret to humanity’s dominance wasn’t intelligence or brute strength, but a weird obsession with rare objects? Today we dive into a new and wildly interesting piece from Jesse Myers’ that tries to piece together evidence from pre-ancient history that may explain not only the importance of money in civilization, but that it may be more fundamental to the existence of our species than we even realize.Tune in as we dive into the evolutionary roots of money, the power of abstract thought, and what it all means for the future of value.

Links Mentioned in This Episode

Jesse Myers’ Substack (Link: https://substack.com/@jessemyers)
Nick Szabo’s "Shelling Out" (Link: https://nakamotoinstitute.org/library/shelling-out/)
Robin Dunbar’s research on Dunbar’s Number (Link: https://tinyurl.com/3d8e5fwc)
"I, Pencil" (Link: https://tinyurl.com/yc2m7zmn)
The Bushidoo of Bitcoin: A Code of Virtue for a World on a New Economic Standard by Aleksandar Svetski (Link: https://www.bushidoofbitcoin.com/)
Why the Yuppie Elite Dismiss Bitcoin (Link: https://tinyurl.com/hx5rddy2)

Check out the original article: Once in a Species by Jesse Myers (Link: https://www.onceinaspecies.com/p/once-in-a-species-73b)

Host Links

⁠Guy on Nostr ⁠(Link: http://tinyurl.com/2xc96ney)
⁠Guy on X ⁠(Link: https://twitter.com/theguyswann)
Guy on Instagram (Link: https://www.instagram.com/theguyswann)
Guy on TikTok (Link: https://www.tiktok.com/@theguyswann)
Guy on YouTube (Link: https://www.youtube.com/@theguyswann)
⁠Bitcoin Audible on X⁠ (Link: https://twitter.com/BitcoinAudible)
The Guy Swann Network Broadcast Room on Keet (Link: https://tinyurl.com/3na6v839)

Check out our awesome sponsors!

HRF: The Human Rights Foundation is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that promotes and protects human rights globally, with a focus on closed societies. Subscribe to HRF's Financial Freedom Newsletter today. (Link: https://mailchi.mp/hrf.org/financial-freedom-newsletter)
OFF: The Oslo Freedom Forum (OFF) is an international human rights conference series hosted and produced by the Human Rights Foundation (HRF). Bringing together the world’s most engaging human rights advocates, journalists, artists, tech entrepreneurs, and world leaders, we aim to share their stories and brainstorm ways to expand freedom and unleash human potential across the globe. Don't miss this year’s Oslo Freedom Forum in May. (Link: https://oslofreedomforum.com/event/oslo-freedom-forum-2025/)

Trying to BUY BITCOIN?

River: Secure, trusted, bitcoin only, lightning enabled, simple. (Link: https://bitcoinaudible.com/river)

Bitcoin Games!

Get 10% off the best Bitcoin board game in the world, HODLUP! Or any of the other great games from the Free Market Kids! Use code GUY10 at checkout for 10% off your cart! (Link: https://www.freemarketkids.com/collections/games-1)

Bitcoin Custodial Multisig

Want to get into Bitcoin but not ready for self custody? Use custodial multisig for the best way to distribute trust across multiple institutions and even jurisdictions! Check out OnRamp. (Link: BitcoinAudible.com/onramp)

Education & HomeSchooling

Get the lesson in real economics that you never got in school, and teach your kids the truth, not the statist insanity that is Keynesianism. Liberty Classroom is the invaluable resource you are looking for! (Link: BitcoinAudible.com/Liberty)

Read_877 - Once in a Species 01:02:48 Share

Bitcoin Audible

Shownotes Transcript

Read_877 - Once in a Species