The world is full of layers.

Yes, it is obvious that we see heirarchies and abstractions everywhere. What’s less obvious is the implications of our choices of which layers to focus on. I think crypto is an effective case study of how your choices of layers matter a lot, and it also helps that crypto is very deliberate and self-referential in its construction of new layers (or prioritizing certain layers).

Put simply, if you clone a system, you’re creating a horizontal layer. If you’re abstracting or granularizing a system, you’re creating a vertical layer. You have to make two decisions all the time. Should I create a new layer or focus on the existing one? If I create a new layer, should I go horizontal or vertical?