Subj : Re: GNU Public Licences Revisited (again) To : comp.programming From : William Date : Tue Sep 20 2005 01:50 pm "Antoon Pardon" wrote in message news:slrndivbls.4tm.apardon@rcpc42.vub.ac.be... > Op 2005-09-19, William schreef : > > "Antoon Pardon" wrote in message > > news:slrndita90.4tm.apardon@rcpc42.vub.ac.be... > >> > >> The glory. As far as I understand human nature, very few people try to > >> invent something to get rich. Fame and glory seem to be more involved. > > > > I don't think the history of invention supports that idea very > > well. Most of the industrial era's inventors had money on their > > minds from early on. Otherwise, why would the Wright brothers, > > for one example, have spent so much effort to guarantee a profit > > from manned, powered flight? They could have gotten the glory > > much more easily if they hadn't been so secretive for so long. > > I'm not so sure. The wright brothers were not the only ones > trying to develop a flying machine. Going public too early > might have given others a bigger chance to come with a superior > design and thus win the glory. And after the glory came the lawsuits to defend their patents, and, hence, profits. Why bother if all they were after was glory? Having studied the history of invention as a hobby for decades I haven't find too many inventors who were motivated by glory. Most sought out profits from the get-go even if the spark was to solve a problem they were personally experiencing. Certainly, very few inventions became practical except in pursuit of profits. > > (The woman who invented the dishwasher springs to mind, > > but having provided herself with an adequate tool to wash her > > valuable dishes safely, further development seems to have been > > purely profit-motivated. > > By whom? As far as I understand those that did the actual > further developmant are mostly people in pay service. Working for a company started by Mrs. Cochrane (which we know as KitchenAid) with the goal of profiting from her invention. What's your point? Inventors rarely work alone. (They usually don't have all the skills needed to go from idea to production.) -Wm .