Here is something I wrote almost one year ago regarding the equality experiment NEM is performing. I think most of my points are still valid and it might be useful for a lot of people here to understand the difference between equality of opportunity(something we desire) and equality of outcome(unwanted). As important as our distribution is, it remains to be seen what effect this will have on NEM. Positive effects will only be possible if we find a way to really leverage our distribution. Anyway, we are passed that now and much more potent(and counter-intuitive) market forces seem to decide where the market is going. As we have seen with bitcoin, doge, or even nxt, there's always a narrative which almost makes sense in hindsight, yet reality does not seem to obey such
modus operandi. In fact this is precisely why we have something called the narrative fallacy.
NEM's Great Equality Experiment And The Marshmallow TestWhat Equality Means?The other day I found myself reflecting on NEM, what it is and what we all want to make of it. It seems there is a great discussion going on in the world regarding inequality and so NEM equality experiment comes at the precisely right point in time. As usual I think people focus on the wrong things. We should strive to give people equal opportunities, but they are not and should not be equal in outcome. In fact, though most of us start as equal now, I have no doubt we will not end as equal. If high productivity people work and risk 10x more than the other people, it's common sense that they should also be rewarded 10x more. Indeed, I think this kind of inequality is a natural and even necessary effect of the free market. If you would want to cut this kind of inequality off, you would also have to cut startups, inventions and innovations with it, since this may be the greatest driver for that.
Here are two quotes with which I tend to agree:
Worry about skin in the game, not inequality. Worry about equality in opportunity not outcome. Worry about the powerful corporations taking over the system via lobbyists and blocking artisans. Worry about the class of privileged mandarins-WNSITG (with no skin in the game) taking over the system via "grandes ecoles"..." - Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Free people are not equal, and equal people are not free. - Unknown
NEM And The Altcoin LandscapeUnfortunately the altcoin landscape is currently plagued with cheap scams and elaborate pump and dump schemes along with a horde of impulsive people enjoying playing this game. However NEM has nothing to do with this landscape. While we may well go through a cambrian crypto-explosion phase, NEM seems to be already between the fittest and is only getting stronger every passing day.
I know things are more complex but for the sake of simplicity consider the following graph:
The Altcoin Landscape
Cheap Scams Elaborate Scams Clones Low Innovation Deep Innovation
I--------------------I--------------------I--------------------I--------------------I
Approx. Time: 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month 3 - 6 Months 1 Year
Approx. Difficulty: 1/10 2/10 4/10 6/10 10/10
Approx. Value Created: 1 btc 10 btc 50 btc 100 btc 10000 btc
You must understand that while it would take 1 day to create a cheap scam, 1 month to clone a complex coin like Nxt, it would probably take at least about 1 year to invent a deeply innovative coin if you have all other necessary resources at your disposal1(Nxt would be good example of that). Indeed, it would be both stupid and frustrating to confuse deep innovation with clones or low innovation and demand otherwise. NEM aims to bring deep innovation on multiple levels, so when the alpha version along with more interesting details will be disclosed, I think a lot of people will get very excited and some will even get nervous. Indeed this could be one of the most important developments of the altcoin world in 2014. But as you might understand, until the right moment comes, most of these details need to be kept secret for obvious strategic reasons.Anyway, starting with our extremely competent and responsible dev team, our large, talented and diverse community, our fair distribution and equality experiment, I think you can all see that with each passing day NEM is evolving to be a whole different kind of creature, unlike anything you have seen it the altcoin world until now. But in order to see that, you must get out of the noisy and impulsive crowd and focus on the signal. If you look close enough I'm sure you won't be disappointed.
The Marshmallow Test And Financial FreedomIt seems there are two major impediments on the road to financial freedom. One of them is the economic and banking system which we are trying to solve at least partially through NEM. The other one is a bit more counter-intuitive and less thought of, it's ourselves(with all the decisions and wrong moves we make). If we want to achieve something we must shift from a consumer mindset to a producer mindset, and therein lies the key.
Looking at the marshmallow experiment which emphasizes self-control and delayed gratification as a better predictor of success than IQ, I can only wonder what all those people selling NEM now will think in a couple of months.
If you would have to choose between receiving 1.5 btc for your share now or delaying gratification to receive at least 10x that amount in a couple of months, what would you choose?
If self-control and delayed gratification are a good predictor of success, it seems quite obvious to me, impulsivity may be an even better predictor of failure.
So in the end, I can only say be wise and make smart decisions because although we all start with an equal opportunity, ultimately our decisions, contributions and productivity will decide our outcome, and trust me, as it looks, there won't be any equality in that.
References
1 Through necessary resources I mean an enormous amount of brain power, time and energy to invest and conceptualize such a novel technology and an even greater amount of brainpower, time, energy and determination to transform things from the realm of ideas to reality. But it gets even more intriguing, since although these resources are necessary, in a lot of cases they may still not be sufficient. 
... 
