The Corn Flake in the Machine
John Harvey Kellogg hated masturbation.
As a medical doctor, he ran the Battle Creek Sanitarium in Michigan with an iron fist and some… offbeat ideas.
When he wasn’t crusading against self-gratification - which he believed was the root of many health problems - he was proposing to his patients yogurt enemas, nut butter meals, electric light baths, and 20 mile-a-day walks.
See, Kellogg grew up during the rise of the Industrial Revolution. That might seem beside the point, but it was anything but.
It wired his entire worldview.
As steam engines and assembly lines transformed America, Kellogg imagined the human body as the ultimate machine.
In his mind, your stomach wasn't just an organ—it was a finely-tuned engine. And what do engines need? The right fuel.
His ultimate solution? Corn flakes. Yes, those bland, crispy sheets of corn we still eat today were originally invented as a form of “premium gasoline” (and, believe it or not, an anti-masturbation measure).
Industrial-minded America ate it up.
Literally.
You might not think it at first, but…
This story has everything to do with investing in emerging tech: whether it’s AI, crypto, biotech, or 3D-printed pancakes.
Allow me to explain.
The Corn Flake in the Machine
Throughout history, people like Kellogg have used new tech to create metaphors that explain how the world REALLY works.
These metaphors - or paradigms - not only change how we see reality and ourselves…
They also cause huge shifts in economics and invention, affecting where money flows.
One example of many:
The Renaissance thinker, influenced by the emergence of the mechanical clock, often portrayed the universe as a precise clockwork system.
This worldview influenced a massive flow of capital into mechanical innovations, precision instruments, and early automation.
Now…
You might argue that this is backwards logic - mistaking the shadow for the substance.
Breakthroughs in one area beget breakthroughs. And it’s as simple as that.
But the reality is more complex: Innovation is a cyclical process where technological progress, worldviews, and capital allocation mutually reinforce each other.
After all, Kellogg didn't invent corn flakes in a vacuum.
He was actively seeking a food that would align with his health philosophies, which were heavily influenced by the industrial metaphor.
Hence…
The Corn Flake Theory
Here's how this cycle typically unfolds:
- Initial Innovation: A new technology emerges, often from scientific research or practical problem-solving. It often comes first as a challenge to the prevailing worldview.
- Metaphor Formation: As the technology becomes more prevalent, it begins to shape how people understand and describe the world.
- Worldview Shift: This new metaphor gradually influences the broader cultural and philosophical worldview.
- Investment Attraction: The new worldview causes a change in intuitions, making certain types of investments seem more logical or promising.
- Capital Allocation: Money flows into areas aligned with this worldview, fueling further technological development.
- Technological Advancement: The influx of capital leads to more innovations in the field.
- Reinforcement: These new innovations further cement the worldview, continuing the cycle.
- Rinse, Repeat: Anomalies eventually surface to challenge the worldview and they become big enough to where the exception becomes the new rule. Enter Kuhn’s “paradigm shift”.
The question is then begged: In the age of many converging emerging technologies…
What’s Next?
We’ve covered a lot of ground in a short amount of time. So here’s the crux: Metaphors tend to play a huge role in how we organize societies and allocate capital.
The invention of the telephone networks led to descriptions of the brain as a complex switchboard.
And then, later, expanding on this idea, came the computer.
“Oh look, the brain must be a computer!” said the computer scientist.
(Now, as computers are advanced enough to spit out fantastic simulations, we’re in the “The Universe is almost 99.99% likely to be a simulation” phase.)
What’s next?
With the rise of AI, what new metaphors might emerge? And where might they direct the flow of global capital?
This, for the record, is a very forward-looking reflection, but…
For that, we turn to Joscha Bach - and his crazy ideas about the future of AI.
You don’t necessarily have to agree with Bach.
BUT…
Many tech leaders of our day - established and rising - are listening to the new AI-influenced metaphors he uses to describe reality.
And some of his ideas just might induce the “next big thing” in emerging technology.
Diving deep tomorrow.
More on that - and how it could affect your portfolio - to wrap up the week.
