Communication, Open Source Software and human evolution.
From SusoSight
| Number: | 17 |
| Date created: | 2001-10-01 21:49:39 |
| Previous Thought: | *ster (file sharing) and the Borg |
| Next Thought: | Learning two simular things at once == bad |
| Voting results: | Yes: 19 |
Over the weekend I had the oppurtunity to hang out with my fiancee's parents, who speak Russian and don't speak English. Even though I'm learning Russian, there were many times when I had no idea what they were talking about. Suddenly, they would all begin laughing. I would just sit there and wonder what was so funny. I would normally think that their laughing would cause me to laugh or at least smile a bit. Nothing. I simply was not communicating with them.
This made me wonder about the wonder about the beginnings of human existance and what it took to get progress moving along in the world so that we could eventually create everything you see here. I thought that it must be the communication part that separates us from the rest of of the world's species. After all, monkeys have opposable thumbs too and it only got them a bunch of bannanas. It's most likely a combination of a few of these traits that make us so successful, but I think above all it's our ability to communicate, share ideas openly with others to help us improve.
In the last century or so it seems that businesses and individuals however have thought it wise to protect their fortunes and ideas by not sharing information with anyone and caring more about making a buck than getting it right. I think that this attitude will indefinately put a hamper on the evolution of mankind and stunt our growth. This is why we need to once again embrace open source ideas and values so that we can move forward.