Shouldn't We Embrace the Remix?

Rob Williams · 08-15-2012, 05:27 PM

Is "everything a remix"? According to Kirby Ferguson, the answer is "yes". Without feeding off the knowledge of others, and their creations, Kirby believes the world would not be where it is today. While a company might tout having invented something, and of course wastes no time in patenting it, it's very likely that it would simply not exist if not for the work of others.

Read through the rest of our post and then discuss it here!

eunoia · 08-16-2012, 06:09 PM

Like most TED talks, its vastly oversimplified for an audience that's not known for generating new ideas. In reality, you can't really compare artistic ideas and the degree to which they're "borrowed" that broadly with ideas that "advance the useful arts".

The situation with Apple is admittedly ridiculous, given what they owe, but let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater: patent and copyright law will always have an important purpose. It's useful to consider the "nothing is original" mindset the speaker manufactures, but also consider the mindset of the geniuses that actually have the original ideas and are unable to benefit at all in the climate the speaker proposes.

It's putting a band-aid on a gushing wound to try to right the wrongs of the past, and cryptomnesia does happen, but at least we have the technology now to document new ideas and afford some justice to the originators.

madmat · 08-16-2012, 10:09 PM

You touched on the one thing that rankles me about the whole Apple situation. Jobs was pretty open about admitting to stealing ideas back when they were the new kids but now that Apple is the entrenched company with their fingers in all the pies, they want to burn anyone that has anything resembling their IP. Even when their IP is taken from prior art.

I mean seriously? The iPad is a total take off of the P.A.D. from TNG. Same formfactor, same design, hell except for the i the same freaking name. The estate of Gene Roddenberry should sue Apple's ass off.

Rob Williams · 08-17-2012, 12:06 AM

Great points guys! As I'm unable to say anything about Apple that shines the company in a poor light, I'll just not bother.

08-15-2012, 05:27 PM	#1
Rob Williams Editor-in-Chief Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Atlantic Canada Posts: 13,246	Shouldn't We Embrace the Remix? Is "everything a remix"? According to Kirby Ferguson, the answer is "yes". Without feeding off the knowledge of others, and their creations, Kirby believes the world would not be where it is today. While a company might tout having invented something, and of course wastes no time in patenting it, it's very likely that it would simply not exist if not for the work of others. Read through the rest of our post and then discuss it here! __________________ Intel Core i7-990X EE @ 3.43GHz, GIGABYTE X58A-UD5, Kingston 12GB DDR3-1333, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 2GB Kingston HyperX 3K 240GB SSD, WD VR 1TB, WD 2TB, Seagate 2TB, LG BD-ROM, ASUS DVD-RW, Corsair 1000HX, Corsair H60 Cooler Corsair 800D, Dell 2408WFP 24", ASUS Xonar Essence STX, Gentoo (KDE 4.10, 3.7 Kernel) "Take care to get what you like, or you will be forced to like what you get!" - H.P. Baxxter <Toad772> I don't always drink alcohol, but when I do, I take it too far.

08-16-2012, 06:09 PM	#2
eunoia Partition Master Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Outside Poker Flat Posts: 305	Like most TED talks, its vastly oversimplified for an audience that's not known for generating new ideas. In reality, you can't really compare artistic ideas and the degree to which they're "borrowed" that broadly with ideas that "advance the useful arts". The situation with Apple is admittedly ridiculous, given what they owe, but let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater: patent and copyright law will always have an important purpose. It's useful to consider the "nothing is original" mindset the speaker manufactures, but also consider the mindset of the geniuses that actually have the original ideas and are unable to benefit at all in the climate the speaker proposes. It's putting a band-aid on a gushing wound to try to right the wrongs of the past, and cryptomnesia does happen, but at least we have the technology now to document new ideas and afford some justice to the originators. __________________ Cooler Master HAF X - Thermaltake Toughpower W0178RU 850W - Gigabyte G1.Assassin - Intel Core i7 930 - Noctua NH-U12P SE2 - Kingston HyperX Red 1600 3X4GB - XFX 6850 - 2 X SAMSUNG DVD SH-S223L - WD Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB - WD Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB - Acer AL2216W - Tt eSports Challenger - Logitech MX 620 - Win 7 Pro x64

08-16-2012, 10:09 PM	#3
madmat Soup Nazi Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: No soup for you! Posts: 1,639	You touched on the one thing that rankles me about the whole Apple situation. Jobs was pretty open about admitting to stealing ideas back when they were the new kids but now that Apple is the entrenched company with their fingers in all the pies, they want to burn anyone that has anything resembling their IP. Even when their IP is taken from prior art. I mean seriously? The iPad is a total take off of the P.A.D. from TNG. Same formfactor, same design, hell except for the i the same freaking name. The estate of Gene Roddenberry should sue Apple's ass off. __________________ M4N82 Deluxe Phenom II 940 Black Edition quad core @ 3.5Ghz 2x1 gig OCZ PC26400 Platinum, 2x1gig GSkill PC26400 EVGA GTX260 Buncha drives, Some other stuff, Even more stuff, If the automobile had followed the same development cycle as the computer, a Rolls-Royce would today cost $100, get a million miles per gallon, and explode once a year, killing everyone inside. --Robert X. Cringely, InfoWorld magazine Sign Me!

08-17-2012, 12:06 AM	#4
Rob Williams Editor-in-Chief Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Atlantic Canada Posts: 13,246	Great points guys! As I'm unable to say anything about Apple that shines the company in a poor light, I'll just not bother. __________________ Intel Core i7-990X EE @ 3.43GHz, GIGABYTE X58A-UD5, Kingston 12GB DDR3-1333, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 2GB Kingston HyperX 3K 240GB SSD, WD VR 1TB, WD 2TB, Seagate 2TB, LG BD-ROM, ASUS DVD-RW, Corsair 1000HX, Corsair H60 Cooler Corsair 800D, Dell 2408WFP 24", ASUS Xonar Essence STX, Gentoo (KDE 4.10, 3.7 Kernel) "Take care to get what you like, or you will be forced to like what you get!" - H.P. Baxxter <Toad772> I don't always drink alcohol, but when I do, I take it too far.