Explaining Quantified Prestige as system is difficult. And it’s even more difficult to explain how it might enable a reputation income economy in any currency (not mentioning the advanced continuous Fluido currency). So, I came up with a very simplified model that explains some of the basic ideas:
Imagine you had 12 special medals. And you could donate them to other people (but not yourself). Everyone who gets one of your medals will get a basic income of 200€ (or $) per month (but your medals are worthless if you keep them for yourself)! People with several medals get several times that basic income amount. Now the interesting question is: Whom would you donate your medals to? Note that you can demand the medals back at any time. Once you donated all your 12 medals you cannot get any new medals to donate. To prevent some simple failure modes there is a rule that you must at least give medals to six different persons!
I think this is a relatively simple thought experiment that is still innovative enough to make people think. Personally, I would have a hard time coming up with a definite list of persons whom I wanted to donate these medals to. Now that I think about it, it becomes clear that giving a medal to someone is not a full endorsement of everything they do or say or think, but an appreciation for what they do and represent. And it does feel unfair that I only have 12 medals, though in the real QP system those “medals” are very much divisible. I don’t want to mention any names, but there are a few categories of people who are candidates for me:
- Philosophers (currently living, of course :))
- Book authors (mostly science fiction)
- Artists and musicians
- Activists
- Members of the Fractal Future Network
- Creators of free and open source software or content
- People in need who I personally know
Would you choose different categories? Or more generally: How would you react to this thought experiment?