Re: [ox-en] Germ of a new form of society or germ of a new form of business?
- From: Graham Seaman <graham seul.org>
- Date: Wed, 4 Feb 2004 17:25:47 -0500 (EST)
On Wed, 4 Feb 2004, Martin Hardie wrote:
OK? Where is the difference. One elite precahes "justice" and the "rule of
law" the other preaches "free" software and the rule of open code .... Both
elittes are sustained by a power gained through learning and belonging to a
"community" (the " .." is for Graham!).
:-)
I accept the position that tendentially FLoss can smooth the space of the
globe so that virtually everyone is within the elite. But that is not the
case now and requires better ways of imparting the skills.
I think maybe part of the problem is that too much emphasis is being put
on software alone. I can't imagine (well, actually I can, and it's
horrible) a world where EVERYONE wants to know about software. But at the
moment we're in the position where (because of free software) anyone who
does want to know about software, can afford the hardware, and has access
to an internet connection, can learn about it, which is - for now - a
pretty unique position. Almost nothing else is open like that (accepting
that the need for the hardware means it is mainly open to people over an
income threshold).
Other things are either closed by technical or physical or social
boundaries. For the law, there are social boundaries: sure, I could read
the books, but I don't have the possibility of getting a formal
qualification, and am too old to get a job in it if I did. At the other
end of the scale, if I want to know about mobile phones, there are
technical/social boundaries: they're designed so you can't open them,
can't take them apart to learn how they work, can't repair them, etc.
When I was younger there seemed to be at least one car mechanic (even if
he (nearly always he) didn't do it for a profession) on every street. If
anyone wanted to learn about them, it was easy to find someone else to
learn with. And the technical side of the design didn't stop you either.
Similarly, on a slightly smaller scale, with people who knew about radios
(though there was always the morse exam as a partial barrier). Outside
sports, that kind of thing seems to have largely disappeared now, and
because of regressive technical/social changes, not because of any
technological inevitability.
Free software has begun to recreate that situation - it's relatively easy
to find people to learn with, you can learn without needing to get a
formal qualification, if you have the hardware you don't need to pay extra
for software, etc. The learning/teaching/documenting system isn't perfect
- isn't really a system at all. But I don't see this is any more elitist
than kids learning about cars by tinkering with them together. And rather
than perfecting it in this one little corner of life, it would be cool to
see it appearing in other areas of life too. And no, I don't know how
either.
Graham
Thats all folks
Agur garate (para los vascos en el list)
Martin
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