You weren't listening--yes, there will be less profit from
revolutionary ideas from anyone. I don't give a damn about
revolutionary ideas. Progress comes from small, evolutionary
improvements and combinations of existing ideas, and it is
those that will flourish in a world where there are no
copyrights and patents to artificially overvalue novelty
for its own sake.
The myth of the small lone inventor coming up with a unique
and marvellous idea out of nothing in his garage is fairy tale.
A pretty story made up to justify granting state-sanctioned
privilege to those who can afford to speculate irresponsibly
with technology in hope that big brother will secure their
market for them if they get lucky.
A /true/ creative mind honestly acknowledges that nothing is
created in a vacuum; every "creation" is a synthesis of old
ideas from a thousand sources, and maybe one or two randomly
strewn new ones. I certainly don't think they have no value,
but nor do I think creativity is anything special. Anyone
who thinks a creative mind is somehow more worthy of help from
government than a talented athlete, and skilled craftsman,
or even a high-priced hooker is just a snob. Everyone from
laborers to inventors contributes to the economy, and none
deserve anything they can't get without a forcible monopoly.
-- Lee Daniel Crocker <lee@piclab.com> <http://www.piclab.com/lcrocker.html> "All inventions or works of authorship original to me, herein and past, are placed irrevocably in the public domain, and may be used or modified for any purpose, without permission, attribution, or notification."--LDC