In my previous blog, I wrote about Terry Heick's, Three Ideas for 21st Century Global Curriculum http://www.edutopia.org/blog/global-curriculum-terry-heick, and I mentioned another person, Sam Levine and a project he had done. http://www.theindependentproject.org/the-white-paper/.
The question is should ideas be considered property?
I wrote a paper on Sam Levine's idea awhile back and I could feel myself boiling with anger as I was reading Terry Heick's blog. I felt for Sam Levine, he was just a kid (he's an adult now) but this idea was his property, and I felt territorial for him. In the video Part 4 "Everything is a Remix" http://everythingisaremix.info/watch-the-series/, it states "ideas are property and we are excessively territorial when that property belongs to us". It's human nature.
Sam Levine had a great idea, and he made something of it, Terry Heick came along and blogged about something very similar. My first instinct is to e-mail Sam Levine, even though I don't know him to tell him that this Terry person stole his idea, or is trying to "Remix" his idea. My question is why can't I e-mail him and tell him this Terry guy has a very similar idea and perhaps you should collaborate? It's because we can't see past the greed.
It was mentioned in the video, "new ideas, evolve from old ones."
The problem is no one wants to give up that recognition factor. It feels good when you have a great idea, and it's a slap in the face when someone steals it, or even worse when they improve it. That is why they are property and that is why they should be considered property.
That's a good example about how two close things overlapping with each other. It is frustrating. To be part of it directly, or to see it happen to others. That's where the territorial part comes in.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that no one wants to give up proper recognition. It's a lot more of an achievement to say something is original. It probably isn't, but it feels nice for the moment.
Wonder what would come of you messaging Sam and Terry.... would be interested to find out.
Laura, I blogged about this topic as well and I feel we have similar viewpoints. It is defiantly true that nobody wants to give up the recognition factor for any idea. We are proud of our ideas and we want others to know that it was us that created them. If our ideas are stolen or improved upon it is defiantly a huge slap in the face; it feels as if our time and effort was wasted and the “copier” took the easy way out. Unfortunately, at least in my case, I’m guilty of copying sometimes also. I can usually justify my actions, but when the shoe is on the other foot, I get angry! Honestly, I feel that collaboration is more beneficial than “protecting our ideas”. Sharing can benefit us greatly, especially if another’s perspective can improve on our original idea. However, it isn’t always easy admitting that our ideas are “a little rough around the edges”. The biggest thing for me is permission; if it’s requested and given, then share away. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI'm still in the middle about how I feel about towards copyright and patent restrictions. I agree with you that it is human nature to feel territorial about our "property". However, I feel that in the near future the world will go through some big changes with the growth and popularity of the digital age. The big corporations and governments world-wide are just going to have to step back and maybe change the laws while a new generation moves in to create new ideas. These new ideas are going to come from the memes that already exist and some toes are going to get stepped on. Having said that, if it was "mine" I'm sure I would feel territorial, too. I'm not sure of what changes can be made to allow for the collaboration of ideas but something must change in order to grow as a global community in an effort to educate.
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