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MAN TAILS Professor Lessig presents a compelling, progressive argument. The concept of a democratized, open source community sharing software and content in order to promote balance, competition and revive the "read write culture" is very appealing. The creative recreation of sounds and images by amateurs is especially attractive. It is incredibly refreshing to see the impressive array of work by regular people who create and produce thought provoking, inspiring, horrifying, hilariously insightful things purely because they enjoy doing so…

GIMME TECHNOLOGY Lessig is particularly persuasive and cunning in his anthology of analogies. The “infernal machines” that put an end to the picturesque hoe-downs and front porch sing-along s of yester year created a slippery slope of voiceless consumerism.

There are always extremes. We live in an era of extremism. We are an overly stimulated materialistic society. Things are disposable; people are disposable. The sophisticated technology (we have grown to depend on) has inadvertently--created--and fostered a socially retarded, isolated and often narcistic trend in our culture; but I digress… Technology and the collaborative open source concept has major advantages. The technology is sophisticated and there are incredible people doing amazing things with it, but not everyone can access it.

The innovation and complex technology, (computers, internet, and software) should be available to everyone in the free world, right?

COPYRIGHT LAWS AND INFRINGEMENT I agree with Lessig that by using digital technology to “say things differently” a whole new medium of art has emerged and should be legitimized instead of criminalized. It will not go away, either way.

The artist is a complicated creature. In particular, the individualistic attitude concerning creating things—like software, is probably a personal, secretive almost miserly process at first. Would you let the infertile neighbor borrow your kid or partially raise them for a few years? Maybe let them instill some values or possibly cut their hair? You get me? But we all must let go because “things” can really flourish when more than one head is thinking or creating for that matter… For instance in The Cathedral and the Bazaar, Eric Steven Raymond reflects on his previous belief concerning the creation of software.

"I believed that the most important software (operating systems and really large tools like the Emacs programming editor) needed to be built like cathedrals, carefully crafted by individual wizards or small bands of mages working in splendid isolation, with no beta to be released before its time".

I’ve encountered quite a few artists who are incredibly paranoid, shifty, selfish individuals that would much rather hide, complicate or throw away their supplies, lest someone else come along and make something better. Many fit this profile, but perhaps these aren’t really artists afterall. Many artists see other things and get inspired. Some steal and try to pretend they have come up with something quite unique. While others just remain indifferent and make things regardless. I like the idea of collaboration and we can see the purpose and functionality in scholarly peer reviewed journals. We can see the spirit of collaboration in all these great new things that keep abounding technology is rapidly moving and getting complicated and better and bigger and bigger and bigger and .

CULTUREmULCHER