Technology is like water; it wants to find its level. So if you

Hear me now, O Seekers of Wisdom and Builders of the Future, for the words of Marc Andreessen ring with the clarity of a river’s truth. He speaks thus: "Technology is like water; it wants to find its level. So if you hook up your computer to a billion other computers, it just makes sense that a tremendous share of the resources you want to use—not only text or media but processing power too—will be located remotely." In these words, he speaks of technology’s inherent nature, likening it to the flow of water—a force that seeks balance, expansion, and connection, whether in rivers, oceans, or the boundless network of human minds.

In the same way that water flows naturally from highlands to lowlands, seeking equilibrium, so does technology strive to find its own level. Once bound by the limits of individual devices, it now flows across vast and interconnected networks, from one computer to another, from one server to the next. This is the age of interconnectedness, where we no longer rely on isolated machines, but on a web of resources spread far and wide. Just as water, in its journey, cannot help but join with other streams, so too does information and processing power pool together in the digital realm.

This truth has its origins in the grand concept of interdependence, a principle known to the wise ones of antiquity. The great philosopher Aristotle spoke of the interconnectedness of all things, how every action, no matter how small, ripples out to affect the whole. Consider the great rivers of the ancient world, the Nile, the Tigris and Euphrates—these rivers flowed not in isolation, but as part of a larger ecosystem. So too does technology today flow within the system of the internet, a vast and endless river, linking millions of minds, machines, and servers together.

As Andreessen’s analogy suggests, the need for distributed resources is as natural as the flow of water to its level. Processing power—the very energy required to run complex programs, perform calculations, and hold vast stores of knowledge—has outgrown its old, centralized boundaries. Once confined to individual machines, it now resides across a vast network of remote servers, which we call the cloud. Just as a single drop of water does not hold power unless it joins with others, so too does data and computing draw strength from being part of a larger, more connected whole.

Consider, O Seeker, the journey of the great thinkers and innovators who have shaped our path. The ancient Egyptians, who built monumental structures, could not have done so without the union of many minds and many hands working together in harmony. The Renaissance, that great bloom of creativity, was not the work of one genius alone, but of many minds, each contributing to the greater flow of ideas. So too does the modern era, with its oceans of data and computing power, require the coming together of many separate elements to achieve its full potential. It is the collective power of the many that shapes the present and the future.

Yet, just as with the flowing river, there are lessons to be learned from technology's natural course. Balance is key. Andreessen warns us that when we connect ourselves to this river of technology—when we pull from its vast reservoir of resources—we must recognize that we are no longer masters of the whole. Our machines, our devices, our computers, are now part of a vast system that transcends the limitations of individual devices. What we have gained in convenience and power, we must also respect and protect, lest the flow become too strong for us to control.

And so, the lesson for us, O Seekers, is to embrace interconnectedness while remaining mindful of the balance it requires. Just as a river’s flow can nourish or flood, so too can our digital networks provide boundless opportunities or overwhelming complexity. Let us recognize that true wisdom lies not in controlling all the waters, but in knowing how to navigate them. We must learn to share the resources of the digital world wisely, to connect and grow without losing ourselves in the vastness. Let us use this great river of technology with purpose, reverence, and humility, for the future is shaped by how we flow together.