That's false, I know exactly how to make a pencil. I know because I look it up in case I'm mysteriously transported back to the Roman Empire times.
The hard part is finding graphite (somewhere in Wales? looks like lead, but softer and leaves traces on sheep's wool). Then suitable clay to make the lead. Then some kind of glue to glue the two parts of the pencil (boil some bones and cartilages?).
What about the eraser? What about the machine that mills the pumice that goes in the eraser? What about the yellow paint? Are you gonna go with cadmium pigment or something that won’t kill children, and if so, what? How to you plan to refine the bauxite ore to make the aluminum ferrule that attaches the eraser to the pencil? Were you aware that they are aluminum, or called ferrules? What about the machine that makes the pierced holes through the ferrule that retains the eraser?
I know a shitload of trivia about both manufacturing and pencils. But I could not possibly recreate all the processes needed to manufacture a pencil.
I learned a lot about pencils from this article. It is also applicable to jet engines.
Correct. The history is rife with examples of manias taking hold of societies, I recommend "Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds" by Charles Mackay[1], it's an absolutely fascinating book.
"…there weren't any alternatives for anti-knock additives.".
Presumably, you mean there weren't any alternatives for anti-knock additives for around the same price as tetraethyllead.
Octane ratings can be increased sans Pb if needed. Trouble is the extra refining and reduced yield increases costs which consumers weren't prepared to pay for.
On spacebattles you get infracted for chan-like (or instagram-like) behaviour. It's all about how strict moderation is. They do allow likes (but there's no algo)
oh hey, let's have a thought experiment in this world with no IP rules
suppose I write a webnovel that I publish for free on the net, and I solicit donations. Kinda like what's happening today anyway.
Now suppose I'm not good at marketing, but this other guy is. He takes my webnovel, changes some names, and publishes it online under his name. He is good at social media and marketing, and so makes a killing from donations. I don't see a dime. People accuse me of plagiarism. I have no legal recourse.
There are also unfair situations that can happen, equally as often, if IP does exist, and likewise, in those situations, those with more money, influence, or charisma will win out.
Also, the idea that that situation is unfair relies entirely on the idea that we own our ideas and have a right to secure (future, hypothetical) profit from them. So you're essentially begging the question.
You're also relying on a premise that, when drawn out, seems fundamentally absurd to me: that you should own not just the money you earn, but the rights to any money you might earn in the future, had someone not done something that caused unrelated others to never have paid you. If you extend that logic, any kind of competition is wrong!
there are two programmers.
first is very talented technically, but weak at negotiations, so he earns median pay.
second is average technically, but very good at negotiations, and he earns much better.
In China, engineers hold the most power, yet the country prospers. I don't think the problem is giving engineers power, rather a cultural thing. In china there is a general feeling of contributing towards the society, in the US everyone is trying to screw over each-other, for political or monetary reasons.
The hard part is finding graphite (somewhere in Wales? looks like lead, but softer and leaves traces on sheep's wool). Then suitable clay to make the lead. Then some kind of glue to glue the two parts of the pencil (boil some bones and cartilages?).
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