Robert Laughlin Nobel Physics on Privatization of Knowledge

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"When we are young, we learn that knowledge is a beautiful, logical thing that anyone can use as he likes - provided, of course, he has the patience to read and think. This idea partly comes from parents, who never tire of inventing reasons for us to study more, excel in exams, and so forth, but it's also something we usually conclude on our own. Most of us decide in young adulthood that the ability to reason and understand is natural, human and rightfully ours.

Unfortunately, this conclusion is erroneous. While some information is indeed available for free and even forced upon us in school, most economically valuable knowledge is private property and secret. The owners of this knowledge do not want it made public, and certainly do not want the state paying people to "discover" it. One can argue endlessly about whether "no trespassing" signs in libraries and schools are good things, but the debate is academic. As a practical matter, our rights to learn have already been circumscribed."

The Crime of Reason
R. B. Laughlin, The Crime of Reason (Basic Books, New York, 2008). Publicity poster for a talk on The Crime of Reason given at the Xerox Palo Alto Research ...
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The Crime of Reason - Excerpt
by RB Laughlin - Related articles
Thus at the dawn of the Information Age we find ourselves dealing with the ...
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