How will DeFi defeat CeFi?

Source: Orange Book

Many people know that the historical process from handwritten books to printing was not achieved overnight. It went through a series of complex and trivial new technology inventions and improvements.

Perhaps the most important factor was the advent of paper, which was invented by the Chinese in the 12th century, spread westward to Europe via Arabia, and finally came into widespread use in Europe in the late 14th century.

The spread of paper in Europe during the period from the 12th century to the end of the 14th century is an interesting period from a technological perspective.

The book "The Birth of the Printed Book" mentions many interesting details. For example:

1. Although people mastered the technology of papermaking at the beginning, the quality of paper was very poor: it was easy to tear and could not be preserved for a long time. Compared with the sheepskin that people used more often at that time, paper was just an inferior substitute.

2. So at the beginning, most people only dared to use paper to record things that did not need to be kept for a long time, or temporarily write some drafts, doodles, etc.

3. People thought that paper was not as good as sheepskin, but the government was more conservative. The rulers of some European countries prohibited the use of paper to issue decrees. If official documents were written on paper, they needed to be copied onto sheepskin and the paper destroyed.

4. Despite this, paper mills continued to open more and more, and gradually became an important industry. This was mainly due to two factors: First, there were more and more technological innovations in papermaking technology, which increased production, efficiency, and paper quality. Second, flax cultivation became more and more common in the Middle Ages, and the raw materials of rags for papermaking became cheaper and more abundant.

5. At that time, most paper mills were located near water sources. On the one hand, papermaking consumed a lot of water, and on the other hand, waterway hubs had advantages in transportation and cargo transportation. Through the development of commerce, merchants exported tons of locally produced paper to other countries and regions, and people from other places also opened their own paper mills one after another. Eventually, paper was successfully spread throughout Western Europe.

6. During this process, paper gradually established its market position and replaced sheepskin everywhere. In the 14th century, paper had been incorporated into official use. Royal officials were used to using paper to record things. However, many manuscripts were still used to be written on sheepskin (this would not change until the invention of printing and the production of printed books with paper). In terms of durability, sheepskin might be better, but at this time, people's attitude towards sheepskin was more like a nostalgic mentality. Paper won a comprehensive victory.

From today's perspective, paper is obviously a more advanced technology than sheepskin. It is an inevitable trend for the former to replace the latter. However, at the beginning, the quality of paper may not be as good as sheepskin, so people's use of it is also very limited. They just use it to take notes, and sheepskin is still used for formal occasions.

But in fact, from this step on, paper has already defeated sheepskin. Because when you can use a new technology at your fingertips, it will often become better and better, and eventually surpass the previous alternative technology. It is just a matter of time. On the other hand, sheepskin has basically no room for optimization in terms of technology, and it cannot be quickly copied or mass-produced.

Today's CeFi is sheepskin, while DeFi is poor quality paper.

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