Centralization emerges due to the n2 scaling costs of communication.

· Bits and Bobs 10/12/26
  • Centralization emerges due to the n2 scaling costs of communication.
    • Everyone benefits from having one central place to go to communicate with anyone else.
    • This incremental draw gets stronger and stronger as the network grows.
    • The downside is that now there's one point of failure, and whoever owns it will get a lot of power.
      • And of course, power corrupts.
    • But still, if the boundary gradient is greater than 1, then net new participants will tend to continue joining.
    • This leads to a compounding outcome.