The only constant in life is change. This seemingly contradictory statement is easily substantiated by anyone who bothers to observe and study natural systems, through casual observation of human societal structures, or by simply observing the changes in one's own body as time passes. Evolutionary theories are based on observing the ability of lifeforms to thrive or succumb in this constant state of flux.
The discipline of Biomimicry departs from the supposition that life, or nature, has spent the past 3.5 billion years in research and development perfecting systems, methods and organisms which thrive in these ever changing conditions and argues that, for a system, design or product to be truly sustainable, it has to evaluate true to the same set of principles common to all lifeforms which resulted from this 3.5 billion year R&D cycle. The set of principles referred to above is known as Life's Principles by Biomicists and are used as the basis for all Biomimetically sound design. In no specific order of relevance, Life's Principles are;
- Adapt to changing conditions
- Be locally attuned and responsive
- Use life friendly chemistry
- Be resource efficient (material and energy)
- Integrate development with growth
- Evolve to survive
OK well that's all very nice and intellectual and green and all but how does that bear any relevance to the doldrums of the current ctyrpto markets and to Skycoin in particular? I am so very happy you asked.
If we accept that humans exists within the construct of life and nature, then it stands to reason that the technology and systems we create will be governed by the same natural laws and principles which applies to all of nature. Let us then consider the Sky ecosystem to be such a system and use life's principles to valuate whether or not our system is truly sustainable.
Evolve to survive
Biomimicry describes this principal as "Continually incorporate and embody information to ensure enduring performance." The questions we have to ask here are; Does Skycoin replicates strategies that work, integrate the unexpected and reshuffle information?
I would answer yes. Being an open source project, Skycoin conforms to this principle by default from a development perspective alone but at a more abstract level, the Obelisk consensus algorithm, which is essentially a web of trust based on human social dynamics, does exactly that. It is highly agile in it's ability to build trust relationships and rapidly scale or break of those relationships based on new information.
Adapt to changing conditions
To be adaptive to local conditions, we have to "Appropriately respond to dynamic contexts" which requires the question; Does Skycoin incorporate diversity, maintain integrity through self-renewal and embody resilience through variation, redundancy and decentralization?
This should be an obvious yes, especially the latter part of the question but let's take a deeper look. One of the aspects which drew me to Skycoin in the first place was the broad scope of the project. In my opinion it is a true end-to-end solution to, not only the issues with which major blockchains are struggling (centralisation, transaction throughput & scaling, high transaction ad mining fees etc), but also to creating a distributed ledger technology with an actual real world application for which there is a definite need. As such Skycoin covers the whole spectrum from software and protocols, through consensus right down to the hardware layer.
So while the decentralised nature of the project affords us an easy yes answer here, the compounding effect of a hardware layer built on open standards and commodity components lends an additional dimension of variation, redundancy and decentralisation as miners and antennas are being built from a variety of locally sourced components and material, effectively circumventing centralisation altogether.
Use life friendly chemistry
"Use chemistry that supports life processes." Ask the question; Does Skycoin break down products into benign constituents, build selectively with a small subset of elements and do chemistry in water?
This principle clearly applies to chemistry and the manufacture of physical products, none of which pertains to Skycoin but we have to take into account that, without the hardware layer, Skycoin can't function and so we have to bring the computer components which Skycoin requires into the equation and, sadly the answer here is a huge resounding no.
Be resource efficient
To be considered resource efficient one should "Skilfully and conservatively take advantage of resources and opportunities." and answer yes to the question; Does Skycoin use low energy processes, use multi functional design, and fit form to function?
Skycoin requires the least amount of energy of any blockchain to secure. There is no requirement for cryptographic gymnastics which consume vasts amount of electricity. DIY miner assembly of official as well as home made miners negates the need for large, centralised energy intensive assembly plants of the multi functional miners which acts as data routers and confirmation nodes on the network. I don't think it is possible to answer anything other than yes to this one.
Integrate development with growth
"Invest optimally in strategies that promote both development and growth." is how Biomimicry defines this principle. To see if Skycoin evaluates true here we have to answer the question; Does Sky self organise, build from the bottom up and combine modular and nested components?
The Sky web of trust is a sterling example of highly dynamic self organisation by locally autonomous units into functional units built from the bottom up which combine and scales modularly. Definite yes.
Be locally attuned and responsive
The final principle we will examine seems like a repeat of some of the earlier ones but the focus here is more on how we integrate with the local environment rather than how we respond to it. As such Biomimicry looks at how we "Fit into and integrate with the surrounding environment" and asks the question; Does Sky leverage cyclic processes, use feedback loops and cultivate cooperative relationships?
The Sky network has multiple short feedback loops built into it which facilitates rapid feedback and reorganisation of sub networks based only on cooperative trusted nodes. Obelisk itself is based on opinion dynamics which is how societies self organise and build webs of trust based on feedback from other trusted members which indicates that, even at the most abstract level, the answer her is yes.
Synopsis
In conclusion then I feel it is safe to say that in the current market shakedown and shitcoin die off we are witnessing, Skycoin evaluates true to five out of six of the principles which are required for a system or organism to be sustainable and thrive and as such remains one of the few sound crypto investments out there.