FAQ – Energy First book / TPOCo
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Discover Energy First, the book that reveals why cooperation is the hidden system powering life — from cells to societies.
TPOCo is a framework that sees cooperation not just as behavior, but as a structural principle of life. From cells to societies, every system survives by gathering, sharing, and repeating energy in a seven-step cycle. Energy First introduces this hidden operating system of life.
The TPOCo cycle explains how cooperation works in seven stages: Essential Energy, Team Formation, United Effort, Gained Energy Source, Energy Share, Thriving, and Repetition. Together they describe how groups come together, gain resources, share them fairly, and build momentum to repeat the process.
TPOCo bridges natural cooperation and human culture through shared intentionality, fairness, and the cultural “ratchet effect.” These traits allow humans to build on past cycles, creating cumulative progress. It explains how cooperation scales from instinct to innovation.
Human traits like endurance running, high-acid stomachs, and tool use evolved within cooperative hunting groups. Shared kills and energy sharing shaped both our bodies and our technologies. TPOCo shows how cooperation became embedded in our biology and culture.
Even today, cooperation follows the same cycle — only now energy often takes the form of money, data, or attention. From global supply chains to the sharing economy, modern systems still gather, pool, and distribute energy to thrive. TPOCo makes this hidden pattern visible.
When cooperation fails, the TPOCo cycle works like a diagnostic checklist. It helps reveal whether the problem lies in purpose, teamwork, coordination, sharing, or trust. By spotting “energy leaks,” groups can restore fairness and flow.
AI is best seen as a “specialist contributor” within human cooperation, not a rival. It processes information and supports shared goals, but only if aligned with fairness and purpose. TPOCo helps ensure AI strengthens, not drains, the cooperative cycle.
Energy in TPOCo means more than calories — it also includes money, time, trust, and attention. These act as structural equivalents that fuel cooperation across scales. This broad view reveals that life, in all its forms, runs on shared energy.