Subj : Re: GNU Public Licences Revisited (again) To : comp.programming From : William Date : Fri Sep 23 2005 11:53 am "Antoon Pardon" wrote in message news:slrndj78s4.2ko.apardon@rcpc42.vub.ac.be... > Op 2005-09-22, William schreef : > > "Antoon Pardon" wrote in message > > news:slrndj2082.4tm.apardon@rcpc42.vub.ac.be... > > > >> > 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. > >> > >> I'm not convinced, once an invention became pratical, it would > >> result in profits, and I understand that people would then > >> also prefer that it ears them money. That doesn't mean it > >> became practical in pursuit of profits. > > > > So you are basically saying you have this belief system which > > you prefer over the evidence. Do you work for the Bush > > administration? > > What evidence? History - there for anyone to read and interpret. > For the moment I have only your say so about the history > of inventions. Correct, but I haven't kept the evidence secret, so any thing I say on the subject can be checked and evaluated. > Not that I think you are lying. but historical finding > do tend to get interpreted in a way that confirms the > examiners ideas. How often have you confirmed this, or is this something you take on faith? I have two friends and each believes the media is highly biased; one thinks it's a liberal bias, the other thinks it's a conservative bias. They are absolutely convinced they are right despite the troubling contradiction. This is easier than digging into the stories, and cross- checking to see if there really is some truth in any given story and determining if bias really exists. I have a third friend who says they're all biased and there's no point in believing anything at all except one's own opinion whether or not you can support it. (Debating issues with him is frustrating, believe me.) Back to the point, though. If you read enough history, by enough authors, the biases tend to cancel out and persistent biases can be detected by working your way up the chain of evidence yourself. > If you want to classify this as having a believe system > that is prefered over evidece, I think that says more about > you than about me. When you actually have studied the evidence, you can form a valid opinion of it. Until then, it is just a belief. You might be right or wrong, but that's no better than a guess. > > Do you think anyone would have invented the Pocket Fisherman > > if they didn't think it would turn a buck? -Wm > > I'm sorry but I have no idea what a Pocket Fisherman is. Lucky you. For the record, it was a 70s (I think) invention which was a foldable fishing "rod" and tackle that could be carried in a pocket (a large pocket): http://www.asseenontv.com/prod-pages/pocketfisherman.htm?gid= The inventor said it wasn't something you actually used, it was something you gave as a gift. (It may stand as THE primary example of profit motivation at work.) -Wm .