The story of "Rakshasa Haishi" will eventually be forgotten, but blockchain can preserve the truth forever

Under the impact of the data torrent, how long can those passionate voices last? Will we forget these voices in the near future, and even find it difficult to distinguish the beauty and ugliness of things, and gradually drown in the vortex of narrative? We need a tool to mark and record those shocking events.

Text/ Weng Hao, co-founder of Waibo Sanguan

Editor/ Kaka

01. Let’s start with Rakshasa Sea City

I heard that Daolang's new song "Rakshasa Sea City" has been played over 8 billion times. This is equivalent to every person on earth listening to it once. I also contributed to the number of plays twice. But I have to be honest, Daolang's singing did not make me "fascinated" as I expected at the beginning. But the story of the lyrics is another matter.

Pu Songling's original work describes in detail the story of a Rakshasa Kingdom, which is the opposite of the Dragon Kingdom. There is also a warrior named Ma Ji, who traveled across the ocean, experienced the vicissitudes of the two kingdoms, and finally chose to return to his homeland. The people of this Rakshasa Kingdom have a unique aesthetic - they believe that ugliness is beauty. In other words, this is a world where everything is turned upside down.

Although the story sounds absurd, it is not uncommon in our real world. In this era of increasingly impetuous social atmosphere, I am puzzled every time I see the cute and shy popular singers on variety shows wearing strange clothes and singing strange songs in their own concerts.

Many videos and articles say that "Rakshasi Haishi" is Daolang's "fire" against the bigwigs in the music industry. Yes, his lyrics are sharp. But in my opinion, the reason why this song can resonate so much is that it touches the hearts of the public. 99% of the working people found their own voices in this song, and they voted in favor in their own way. Those who are busy running for life and fighting for their families may not have a say on the traffic platform or under the spotlight, and cannot brag. But their feelings, experiences and efforts constitute the cornerstone of society. "Rakshasi Haishi" provides these people with a voice, a melody that can resonate with them.

The 1% of the "elite" are undoubtedly disturbed by the message in this song. Because they find that their values ​​are not completely consistent with those of the masses. They may be used to looking down on others from a high position, but this song reminds them that the real power comes from the masses.

In the coming era, in music, art and even in life, real emotions and resonance will be far more powerful than superficial titles and status.

02. The wisdom of the masses

"The masses need elites to lead them" is a narrative that many people who consider themselves elites take as a guideline. But is this really the case? Does the progress of human society have to rely on a few "geniuses" rather than the masses?

James Surowiecki wrote "The Wisdom of Crowds" in 2004. He did not use flowery words, but real examples to tell us that under certain conditions, the judgment of the crowd may even surpass that of experts. One of the stories often cited is about the public activity of guessing the weight of a bull.

The story goes that in 1906, Francis Galton from England, a famous statistician and Darwin's cousin, visited a country fair. At the fair, there was a competition inviting the public to guess the weight of a bull on display. Those who participated had to pay a fee and then write down their guess, and the closest guesser won a prize.

Galton was curious about this activity and decided to analyze it. He collected all the guesses, hoping to verify the "folly of the masses" through this experiment. However, when he calculated the average of all the guesses, he was surprised to find that this average (1208 pounds) was very close to the actual weight of the bull (1198 pounds). His own experiment of "verifying the foolishness of the masses" eventually became ironclad evidence to overturn this judgment.

On the other hand, I have to mention the book The Crowd, which is often cited as a negative example of group stupidity. The title alone is like an invisible sledgehammer that hits those "ordinary" people who try to express their opinions. But in fact, the groups described in the book are actually brainwashed by a specific narrative.

For example, in The Crowd, an example is depicted when a newspaper reported that two little girls had drowned in the Seine. Many witnesses said they recognized the two children, and all the testimonies seemed to be highly consistent, so that the pre-trial judge signed the death certificate without hesitation. However, on the eve of the funeral, it was suddenly discovered that the two little girls who were thought to be dead were actually still alive. Because of the guidance of the media, collective misjudgment occurred from ordinary people to professionals.

The infamous Goebbels once said: A lie will not become the truth even if it is repeated a thousand times, but if a lie is repeated a thousand times and no one is allowed to expose it, many people will take it as the truth. But if there is no public platform that allows people with critical thinking to speak out, how can lies be exposed?

Once narrative power is highly controlled, most people in such a group will lose their original individuality. They will no longer be able to think independently, but will follow the crowd and unconsciously prevail. These are typical group psychological characteristics. Their behavior just illustrates a fact: when individuals lose their critical thinking and become drifting with the crowd, they may become the "mob".

Therefore, in my previous article on Data Resonance: Reconstructing the Trust System, I expressed the importance of social diversity. The wisdom of a group of individuals with independent thinking and critical thinking is unfathomable. On the other hand, groups that are controlled by a single narrative are often the real "mob."

03. The power of narrative

Sitting on the sofa, holding a cup of hot coffee in my hand, watching the information flow scrolling on the screen of my mobile phone. Google search results, ChatGPT AI answers, Facebook friends sharing, CNN, Associated Press, Reuters and other mainstream media are constantly feeding me a "colorful" world. I think without hesitation: "This is the real world." But is it really like this?

To understand the power behind this, we first need to look at the giants who control these information sources.

Current mainstream Internet media:

Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri

Switch to traditional media:

Rupert Murdoch, the owner of FOXNews and The Times, Jeff Zucker, the CEO of CNN, Paul Julius Reuter, the founder of Reuters, Moses Yale Beach, the founder of the Associated Press, Charles-Louis Havas, the founder of Agence France-Presse, and Hollywood film companies: Marcus Loew of MGM, the four Warner brothers, and the Coen brothers of Columbia Pictures.

Of course, we cannot ignore the recently-high-profile OpenAI and Sam Altman of World Coin. AI is likely to dominate the narrative power of the future.

To a certain extent, this group holds the narrative power over this world.

Not long ago, former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd launched a national petition against Murdoch-controlled Australian News Corp, with more than 500,000 signatures, pointing out the media empire's behavior in manipulating public opinion and suppressing reports that are not in its interests. When the government has remarks that are not conducive to this multinational group, all local newspapers controlled by News Corp will attack it on the front page. The truth, or our understanding of the truth, is often shaped by this small group of institutions and individuals.

I would say that the next time you see a news story, ask yourself: “Is this true?” We should all seek the truth, rather than accepting the narrative that others provide us.

04. Guardian of the Truth

In today's world where capital and big data prevail, the majority of us, the 99%, face a challenge: How can we dig out a grain of real sand from the ocean of information that is drowning us? Although everyone has a pair of independent eyes, on this vast virtual beach, how can we avoid being obscured by the powerful double shadows of capital and data?

Then, another question arises: How should we preserve this real grain of sand?

This reminds me of the lyrics of singer Daolang, which are full of challenges to the times. However, under the impact of the data torrent, how long can the passionate singing last? Or will we forget these voices in the near future, and even find it difficult to distinguish the beauty and ugliness of things, and gradually drown in the vortex of narrative?

In this era, the beacon of truth is so important. We need a tool that can not only help us filter and analyze information, but also mark and record those shocking events. This tool should be able to counter the manipulation of narratives and provide us with an option to hear the voice of the masses.

What capabilities does this tool need to have?

Timestamp and verification: Whenever you encounter a piece of news or rumor, this tool will give the information a timestamp and verification mechanism to confirm its source and timeliness, just like labeling it with quality assurance. Immutability: Imagine that once a piece of information is recognized by a broad and critical public, it will be like a milestone in history, indestructible and timeless. Distributed storage and decentralization: This system can ensure that everyone holds a part of the information and ensure that it is not controlled or tampered with by any single entity, which increases the credibility of the information. Transparency and openness: This technology ensures that everyone can view and verify information openly and freely, so that the truth is no longer obscured or manipulated by one party.

The most important thing is that anyone can access this network and store information with timestamps. This is the charm of blockchain, and what I would like to call the "truth network". Here, everyone with independent thinking ability can critically challenge and record every phenomenon, pursue the truth, and protect our history.

For example, when you see a news headline claiming "Chocolate can help you lose weight!" you can't help but wonder, "Really?" With such a tool, various independent studies can be gathered on the blockchain, and the public with critical thinking can directly view all the research related to this statement, understand the truth behind it, and ultimately make their own independent judgments and gradually converge into a group consensus.

Finding the truth is not easy. With superficial browsing and random videos, the truth often drifts away from us. The responsibility of maintaining the truth falls on each of us, and it requires our deep thinking. Every time we start to question, verify or share information, we are actually adding value to the truth network.

Finally, I want to ask you a simple question: Are you willing to store a copy of the truth?