How the Internet of Things will make money as we know it obsolete

Money almost rivals language as an amazing and ubiquitous invention, or maybe better put, convention. We have trusted each other with exchanges of shells, salt, coins, paper, and now ephemeral computer bits. What money you give to me for what I have or do, I may later give to another in like manner. Liquid value. It is believed that a currency arises naturally, as a durable, portable, and universally desired commodity. Gold and silver fit that bill nicely. Chairs and apples don't (at least for now). For a long time, however, nations have issued fiat money, which is backed by trust in the government to honor its value. This allows government the power to rev and throttle the economy more efficiently as need arises or, more cynically, as political machinations dictate. In the light of coming technology, maybe it is time to revisit some old ideas about money. Money has become an abstract entity, untethered from material associations. Fortunately, our brains are fully capable of dealing with abstractions. Or are they? Abstractions are distillations that have a tendency to lack impact. For example, numerous studies reveal the limitations of email and texting, forms of communication that fail to carry visual and audible cues that are present in the face-to-face encounters that people are so well adapted for. Likewise purely factual information can fail to convey the emotional and motivational impact of a topic, which might be hazardous if the topic is wealth. If we go back in history, wealth takes on more of a visible, tangible form. For example, it has taken on the form of crafted artifacts, livestock, or the dimensions of a dwelling. These are physical commodities. If a rich person has fifty sheep, there are fifty bleating reminders of that wealth. In societies that use commodities for money, the wealth of the society is grounded to actual resources, goods, and services; more so than an abstract currency printed by governments and doled out by banks. The manifestation of wealth and money in forms that people can see, touch, and sense, even if indirectly, fits into a conceptual framework that generally resonates more deeply with people.

货币儿乎与语言相媲美，成为一项神奇而无所不在的发明，或许更确切地说，是一种约定俗成的规范。我们相互信任，通过贝壳、盐、硬币、纸张乃至如今瞬息万变的计算机比特进行交换。我所给予你的货币，用以交换我所拥有或所做之事，我日后或许亦以相同方式给予他人。流动性价值。人们普遍认为，货币作为一种持久、便携且普遍渴望的商品，其出现是自然而然的。黄金与白银恰好符合这一标准。椅子和苹果则不然（至少目前如此）。然而，长期以来，各国政府发行的法定货币，其背后依赖的是人们对政府维护其价值的信任。这使得政府能够更有效率地根据需要调整或控制经济，或者更悲观地说是根据政治的权谋所决定。在即将到来的技术的背景下，或许是我们重新审视一些关于货币的老旧观念的时候了。货币已经变成了一种抽象的实体，与物质联系脱节。幸运的是，我们的头脑完全能够处理这些抽象概念。然而，这些抽象概念往往缺乏冲击力。例如，众多研究揭示了电子邮件和短信的局限性，这两种沟通方式无法传达面对面交流中人们早已适应的视觉和听觉线索。同样，纯粹的事实信息也可能无法传达一个主题的情感和动机影响，如果这个主题是财富，可能会带来危险。如果我们回顾历史，财富往往呈现出更加直观、可触摸的形式。例如，它以精心制作的工艺品、牲畜或住宅的尺寸等形式存在。这些都是实物商品。如果一个富人拥有五十只羊，那么这五十只咩咩叫的羊便是其财富的有形提醒。在采用商品作为货币的社会中，社会的财富根植于实际资源、商品和服务；相较于政府印刷并由银行分配的抽象货币，这种联系更为紧密。财富和货币以人们能够看见、触摸和感知的形式（即使间接地）呈现出来，这与一个通常更能深入人心的一般概念框架相吻合。