The early morning buzz of an engine, or that moment when riding from the garage onto the pavement, or that instant when tearing into a freeway ramp. From stillness to the rumbling promise of a 1200cc engine, from a boxed garage onto bustling downtown alleys, and from the constraints of 25-mph to 70-mph open landscapes. These are all glimpses of riding at the margins, at the margins of state transitions.

Taking a 40-mph curve at 60-mph is riding at the margins, but only until conquering the very same curve at 80-mph. We automatically strive to raise that benchmark because it’s that feeling at the margins that matters – being at the limits of skill and adrenaline. What we seek is evolution — to that new state. An innate biological instinct – constantly forcing us to adapt.

The pursuit itself is universal — whether it’s at the margins of riding or simple pleasure seeking. We seek that feeling – the one which a first sip of whisky provides at the end of a long day, or that first serving of frozen custard on a summer afternoon, or that satisfaction of solving a new problem at work. In this case, at the margins of relative novelty. The feeling that a new state of satisfaction has been unlocked.

The constant pursuit of being at the margins is visible across all human endeavors. We were probably happy with the library until we had ebooks and Wikipedia; now we are only happy with augmented reality. We found happiness with no internet, but now we are unhappy with the internet speeds. All these actions and pursuits will eventually manifest at a higher level – shaping political, organizational, and familial institutions.

Once we were content with Magna Carta and then the Bill of Rights, until we had a chance with the modern democratic republic. But, as expected, we are no longer satisfied with these unprecedented institutional freedoms. We are not satisfied with mere liberties enabling us to freely pursue our material goals. But instead, we want to be at the margins where education, healthcare, transportation, etc are universal. Even if we managed to achieve it, we would continue to raise the bar. Not because we aren’t inherently grateful, but just because that’s an instinctive direction. This evolution applies to higher-level social institutions too, including private organizations. Once, just having a paycheck was the norm, but now there are added perks like company shares and healthcare. Familial roles used to be well-defined, but they have evolved to be more fluid, enabling better alignment with shifting social and economic changes. At every level — from mind to social institutions — adaptive mutations happen right at the margins — driver of the growth because that’s where we feel the most alive.

Republished at ridersmodel.com