The easiest form of parochialism to fall into is to assume that we are smarter than the past generations, that our thinking is necessarily more sophisticated. This may be true in science and technology, but not necessarily so in wisdom. Today I would like to share with you a speech made in 1841 by Thomas Babbington Macaulay, a brilliant philosopher, critic and historian who was himself a great enemy of historical parochialism. The speech is on the topic of copyright, and the theories set forth became the basis of copyright policies in the English speaking world for well over a hundred years. These theories now popularly superceded by theories of natural rights to intellectual property. Be forewarned: this speech is long, and far more intellectually challenging than most modern political speech. But the mind behind it is lively and incisive, and you may be surprised by how little the fundamental issues have changed, and how some of the disingenuous arguments put forth today echo those of the far past. Judge for yourself whether the politicians to day are wiser than those of a hundred and sixty years ago.
As most software and creative professionals know, coffee is an important technology for boosting mental acuity and maintaining peak on-the-job performance. But did you also know that coffee can be a damn tasty beverage? It's true. All you need is the appropriate amount of disrespect for the mainstream coffee industry and a desire to enjoy a better beverage. So read on, and learn the secrets to great coffee.
Online discussion of drugs and drug policy tends to be polarized between those who argue in favour of the status quo of drug prohibition, and those who favour complete legalization. Is this dichotomy the only way to debate drugs and drug policy, or is a more subtle and nuanced approach available to us?
Katie Dean
Fed up with Star Wars fan sites revealing plot secrets of his upcoming films, George Lucas dispatches two stormtroopers to take care of a list of unscrupulous webmasters.
Peter Meyers
Some software companies often don't even try to fix what is wrong with their product. They say it's up to you to "work around" the problem.
© Copyright 2002 Michael J. Hehir.
