Humanity builds systems that when revealed to be imperfect are thus considered unsatisfactory. These tools can be anything. Vehicles, garden tools, languages, clothing, software, websites, oxytocin, stories, community centers, social constructs, religions, governments. These are all conduits by which humanity manifests it’s will. Skilled and diverse tool making is a consistent feature of the most influential dynasties.
It can be argued that the correct choice of tool could be the difference between life and death. Perhaps a doctor prescribes you the wrong medication and you get sick, or maybe a military officer mistakes some radio jargon and the party gets lost. Being familiar with your tools is crucial to a safe and prosperous world. A nation, a religion, a culture that does not understand its tools is ultimately doomed. Tools are conduits of power, it is only once we learn how to use our tools do we truly begin to channel that power. That is to say a powerful individual is one with a diverse, specialized and creative toolbox.
This framework of everything as a tool allows us to better identify what tools are available to us, we can see accurately what is truly valuable. If everything as a tool is the framework by which to enact change onto the world, then a toolbox is a tool by which to accrue wealth. The more tools you have at your disposal, the more stable your life can become, and then the process works in a cycle that allows you to build wealth. Horses (a youtube channel) said this in his striking documentary on Ghengis Khan: ”The Khan’s tendency to assimilate was a major source of his success. He didn’t really develop new weapons at all. Instead, Genghis Khan took from a diverse group of people. When he encountered a strategy or tool which could serve his army, the Khan incorporated it into his forces.”
The Khan recognized that there is no end to knowledge. You can forever learn and collect and prosper. This is how dynasties are built, this is what wealth truly is.