13.1 Networking

To call this one of the more intellectual reads would be a gross understatement. After rereading most of the pages and returning to previous material to ensure I was (maybe) comprehending the material, it felt as though any preexisting concept of networks was smothered under the raw weight of protocol.

While it is generous of the authors to acknowledge the existence of protocol in a cybernetic and biological environment, it felt to me as though more was lost through this analysis than gained. Those not already versed in the finer points of DNA or TCP/IP are left to stumble through explanations that touch on topics but require previous knowledge to understand the full extent of the topic. I was particularly glad, however, that the genetics class I took as an undergraduate has paid off.

Having trouble keeping up with some of the examples didn't lessen the impact of this book, however. Thinking in terms of protocol and information, edges and nodes, is an emergent idea that specifically caters to the current mindset and technology available.

Of course, our government so frequently referenced in The Exploit is anything but fluid. It is ferociously vertical and still exclusive in several ways. While the book focuses on communities and governing bodies in the real world, it seems more likely that a community driven by protocol will come to fruition through online media and not be contained by any single governing body due to the fluidity of the medium. Short of a revolution, there is almost no place to begin shifting a nation to a protocol or even counterprotocol.

Early on (p26) there is mention of military action being shaped to accommodate a more protocological force. If I remember right this is mentioned later with the global deployment of the United States military, which seems to fall between hierarchy and protocol. There is a clear pecking order in the military, but it is also equipped to be highly adaptive if there is a change in command or an emergency. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I have no doubt it would be very interesting to see how these separated networks would adapt if they were to sever all edges connecting them to other military patches around the globe. How many isolated networks would react in tandem with other networks on the other side of the world? This doesn't exhibit the political openness of protocol or the horizontal distribution, but it may be one of the better examples of flexibility.

Counterprotocol seems like something still a ways beyond our grasp. We are beginning to demonstrate many-to-many interactions, but it still feels as though it is very much initiated by the individual, not by any "swarm" mentality. Blurring the line between edges and nodes feels like some maddening science fiction jargon, and I am hesitant to accept this prediction. The need for pushing past protocol seems accurate; remaining static accomplishes little, and it will be interesting to see if the next step in networking expands as predicted in this book.