Thread by @level39

🧵THREAD: 1/ Those who understand #Bitcoin liken it to the discovery of fire. But, did you know that 5,300 years ago it was possible to make fire portable and hold it in a wallet? The technology that made this possible was the Tinder Polypore mushroom (Fomes fomentarius).

2/ Tinder Fungus allowed for the portability of fire. One could hollow this mushroom out, put glowing embers of a fire in it, and the fire would smolder for days, allowing it to be transported over distances.

3/ If a clan could not keep fire burning, the clan would perish. So these mushrooms were instrumental technology for human survival—especially in cold or wet weather.

4/ Tinder fungus is found found in Europe, Asia, Africa and North America. It was even found in a fire-starting kit on the body of Ötzi—the 5,300 year-old natural mummy who was discovered in 1991, well preserved in ice on the border of Austria and Italy.

5/ Ötzi's kit included flint and pyrite to make sparks that could easily ignite the fungus. The ability to transport fire changed the game for human mobility. One could carry fire and quickly set up camp, or cook a meal in minutes.

6/ Tinder fungus was essential to humans but ultimately is a parasite that kills trees that it infects. This is an important reminder not to get too distracted by overblown environmental fears. Whatever trees are rotted by these polypores is well worth the convenience.

7/ Tinder Fungus produces a very large numbers of spores, particularly in spring, with up to 887 million basidiospores an hour being produced by some fruit bodies. Most of these spores will never germinate and to an outsider they may seem very wasteful.

8/ Fire was almost certainly feared by early hominids—it's benefits not well understood. It is inconceivable that hominids grasped that fire would power civilization and unlock nutrients for larger brains. Hominids that refused to experiment with fire were at a great disadvantage

9/ There is a parallel between modern humans holding #Bitcoin, in portable wallets, and early humans carrying fire, portable in Tinder Polypore wallets. Both are human-altering technology that few understood at first.

10/ If you are someone who thinks that #Bitcoin is something to be traded away, for fiat money, you've not taken the time to understand the magnitude of the discovery before you today.

11/ If you are someone who thinks that #Bitcoin's 0.19% of global emissions is a reason to avoid its leap in human progress, you are the equivalent of an ancient human who refused to use a life-saving, fire-starting, polypore because a few trees were rotted by its mycelium.

12/ If you are someone who convinces others not to use #Bitcoin and intentionally exaggerates its externalities for your own personal benefit, you are the small-brained hominid convincing others not to evolve and cook food with fire.

13/ And if you are someone who would believe that the 887 million basidiospores produced, each hour, by Tinder Polypores is somehow wasteful, or pointless, then you cannot understand the usefulness of Proof of Work and what it accomplishes.

14/ But, if you are someone with an open mind, who is eager to learn, you can take the time and explore what #Bitcoin has to offer civilization, as well as for you and for your future generations.

15/ #Bitcoin will surprise you. It will enlighten your senses and challenge you to think in ways you never thought possible. There's no better time than the present to dive down the rabbit hole and discover fire. Carry it with you and share it with others.

16/ Get started by reading @Bquittem’s “Bitcoin is the Mycelium of Money.” brandonquittem.com/bitcoin-is-the…

17/ Don’t have time to read? Listen to it and many other great essays on @TheGuySwann’s @BitcoinAudible.

podverse.fm/episode/h80xuw…

18/ Let these ideas spark your imagination and ignite your understanding of #Bitcoin. Once lit, its embers will forever burn within your consciousness.