From: Todd Benson <caduceass@...>
Date: 2007-07-26T01:54:34+09:00
Subject: Re: [OT] licensing/copyright reading material (was: Ruby Editor)

On 7/25/07, Josef 'Jupp' Schugt <jupp@gmx.de> wrote:
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> Todd Benson wrote:
> > I'm mostly interested in Open Source Software concepts, which
> > obviously will make it hard to find what I'm looking for, namely, a
> > relatively unbiased look at them.
>
> If you want unbiased information you at least need three independent
> sources. One obviously isn't sufficient because then it is almost
> impossible to find out to which degree or even *if* it is biased. With
> two you can find out if at least one source is biased. But you still
> have no means to tell which one or - which is more likely - that both
> are biased. Only from three independent sources onwards you have a
> chance of extracting unbiased information from the biased ones. But you
> should be aware that on the one hand it is crucial that the sources are
> indeed independent (often not the case) and that on the other hand
> "unbiased" is a misleading term because the information that you extract
> is again biased due to your own point of view.

Basically, you're saying go out and read everything and make up my own
mind on the matter, which I do plan to do; get down on the mat and
wrestle with some concepts that I've not bothered with before.  All in
good time.  I was just looking for a jump start that was "relatively"
unbiased.  I was looking for aloof observation.

You are right, of course.  I will have to wade through the extremes of
all viewpoints eventually.

> To give a prominent example: The expected raise in temperature due to
> global warming does not increase the surface temperature of the earth
> beyond the highest temperatures since life begun to spread outside
> oceans while it *is* expected to go beyond the highest temperatures ever
> seen by mankind. If you call the temperature that will be reached
> "unprecedented" the bias is that you disregard anything that predates
> the existence of mankind. If you on the other hand say that such
> temperatures are nothing new the bias is that you do not see mankind as
> something special (about which most people would disagree even if their
> faith does not explicitly state that mankind is something special). I
> actually have no idea if an unbiased view on this matter is even feasible.

I love this example, but I never throw it at doomsday theorists
because it is another one of those topics -- just like this one --
that I want to intelligently discuss with other people, but just
haven't had the time to research it myself yet.  No doubt I would be
entering a mob armed with hatchets and sickles with only my bare
fists.

> Leaving that issue aside the question is what kind of economy you have
> in mind. You could narrow the subject to the software market alone. You
> could include the impacts of the software on other markets. The iPhone
> sales numbers were much different if it were not running an operating
> system by Apple but one developed by Hewlett-Packard or Lenovo. Finally
> you could go as far as viewing the influence of the software on global
> markets of any kind. Software can (and actually does) enable producers
> to directly sell their products to the end customer thereby bypassing
> traditional ways of trade. The effect of this is manifold.
>
> Josef 'Jupp' Schugt

Yes, I'm aware of all this.  These are the dillemas that I wish to delve into.

Todd