Weavers weave the braided threads together and through the act of increasing their expertise, they create a durable fabric - this is exactly how the global distributed network of computers creates the Bitcoin Blockchain.
In 2015, Google I/O, one of Google’s secretive research and development divisions, announced that it was planning to create a pair of computer-integrated pants. It would be made of a special fabric—available in a wide range of colors and textures—that would act as a touchscreen, recognize specific gestures, and be able to control devices like smartphones. Two years later, while the pants didn’t work—Google I/O instead partnered with Levis Strauss to produce a denim jacket—the fabric still worked exactly as expected, allowing you to tap or swipe the jacket to play, pause, fast-forward, notify you of incoming messages, or, ultimately, control the smartphone in your pocket, it was still considered the smart fabric of the future.
Jacquard, the name chosen for this futuristic project, has its roots in the 19th century. In 1801, Joseph Marie Jacquard invented a loom that could mass-produce intricately patterned fabrics that previously required a great deal of skill, time, and expertise to produce. The “Jacquard Loom” was controlled, or programmed, by punched cards that defined the patterns to be woven. Much later, these punched cards paved the way for another invention: the computer. An American engineer repurposed the punched card system for the purpose of recording census data. His company eventually became part of the International Business Machines Corporation, which became IBM.
The Jacquard loom is one of the most obvious links between technology and textiles, but examples can be found in a much more distant past.
The earliest known human-made textiles were made from the bark of the flax plant, dating back more than 34,000 years. Transforming flax, wool, cotton, silk, hemp, or flax into fibres was a technological feat, requiring skill and tools such as spindles and spools. Millions of these tools have been excavated from the world’s oldest archaeological sites. These fibres could then be used to make ropes, nets, and when woven on looms, woven or knitted together, they could be made into textiles. These technologies allowed our early ancestors to gather food more quickly, transport it more easily over greater distances, and venture into less temperate climates in search of new habitats.
Whether you are mining Bitcoin or sitting at a loom weaving cloth, all are jobs shaped by revolutions, from industry to technology. Both are processes of "weaving" value chains, where meticulousness and creativity blend to create products with timeless meaning. The weaver, with skillful hands, connects each fragile thread, step by step creating a durable fabric, not only a physical product but also a crystallization of skill, patience and labor value. Similarly, the global distributed computer network, through complex algorithms and computing power, "weaves" the Bitcoin Blockchain - a solid digital "fabric" where each block of data is tightly linked, transparent and immutable. Both processes, whether traditional or modern, reflect one thing in common: the transformation from small units – threads or codes – into a large, sustainable and valuable system, marking the evolutionary journey of humans through the ages.
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