Open access to Tools and Technology by Gabriel Licina presented by the Extreme Futures Tech Fest – Winter 2016.
Open access to tool and advancing technology is key to moving technology forward. the Restrictions we have in the industry currently hold us back.
learn more about EFTF events here: http://EFTF.Transhumanity.net/
Commentary by Gabriel and some one on Google+:
Science, as you said, isn’t getting done, because it lacks money. But the money isn’t always about buying access… it’s about facilities, and resources, and the living costs of the personnel in labs or that put hours into studies or who head into the wild to observe nature.Science costs money, I don’t think de-incentivizing the exclusivity to discovery is the best approach. However I do agree that after a reasonable time, all scientific discovery should probably fall into the general information with general access.
However, what constitutes scientific discovery here? The line between scientific discovery and application isn’t always clear or distinct. From people patenting mathematical formulas in code, solutions to computational work, to the very telecommunications physical network becoming open access to third-parties, the maze of legislation and threats to business investments such a move might make by itself is pretty tangled and complex an issue.
I only had 5-10 minutes to talk. I would hope it’s simple 😉
Joking aside, I agree that science costs money. However, there are lots of things that cost money, and the open source sharing access to tools and information model has worked really well for them.
Money is totally about buying access. Not having tools impedes access. Not having affordable resources restricts access (Gibson Mix should not cost that much). Not being able to read a journal paper restricts access. This is why open spaces, like maker spaces and biohacking labs, are so important. When you are restricting access to these things by having overpriced journals (Scihub.io, we all love you!), or outrageously expensive schools, you aren’t creating an incentive to engage in the culture, you’re restricting and isolating it. Exclusivity tends to lead to creating quite a few artificial barriers to getting an education and learning how to use tools.
Can you honestly say that the $75 cost of a journal paper on some sites is incentive, or just a nice high paywall that keeps taxpayer funded knowledge out of the hands of the people that paid for it? What is a reasonable time for people to be allowed to learn? Who decides that? Why is that restriction in place?
As for the business concerns, I was always under the impression that competition drives innovation. If one is concerned that their multi million DARPA funded lab is going to be undercut but a bunch of people in a garage, just because the price of some tools has been reduced to a reasonable amount… man, they better up their game. Nothing like a little incentive, right ;D
Don’t fear these innovations and people. Befriend them. If someone rocks your world in a garage lab, hire them or fund them, don’t smack them down and restrict them. If someone develops something cool with your code, sounds like you have another member you can add to your team.
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