4 ms·

So if I understand correctly, we should depend on a corporation to decide where these books end up and who has access to them? It sounds like a terrible idea t

So if I understand correctly, we should depend on a corporation to decide where these books end up and who has access to them? It sounds like a terrible idea to me. Not all great thinkers / researchers / inventors end up being University professors. If it doesn't end up being a book or article or in some way shape or form in writing, that the professor wants anxiously for every human in the world to read about, then chances are it wasn't worth writing about anyways.

coliveira 11y ago
The mistake here is that professors don't write for "every human in the world". They write specifically for a small number of people who are well versed in the research topic they work on. While it is possible that this information might be useful to others, this will usually happen as a consequence, not as the primary goal.
- datashovel 11y ago
  Yes, that is correct. But it's not to say that it's not what the professor would like. In the age of the internet (as is mentioned in the article) it seems pointless that in order for a specialist in my field to read my "magnum opus" you must fly out to some obscure state University and hope that (a) the University will allow them to check out the book being that they're not a member of that University, and (b) they think it's important enough to do so. Perhaps it was missed, but the article was written by a professor. The point isn't that all humans in the world would be able to comprehend (or even care) about the contents of the book. The point is that they should have access to it, and the professor (who supposedly cares deeply about what he/she studies / writes about) should want all humans in the world to have easy access to it). Something that is easy to achieve, but apparently not happening. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Srinivasa_Ramanujan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Srinivasa_Ramanujan Imagine where academics could be if, for example, people like Ramanujan had access early in their career to all of the most important ideas in their field of interest. The more obscure an idea or field of study, the harder it's going to be to get it into the right hands.
  - dalke 11y ago
    There's no need to fly. Use Interlibrary Loan to get a copy of the book. It's weird but true that it's often cheaper for me to make an ILL request through my local library than it is to get a copy from the publisher. The only difference is that ILL request may take a week or three to fulfill.
    - datashovel 11y ago
      I'm assuming this works seamlessly with public libraries and international public libraries as well? Third world countries?
      - roel_v 11y ago
        What's your point? When $15 is a week or a month worth of wages, you're not going to buy the ebook or paperback of it either. Or are you saying that all academic books should be free? Why?
        datashovel 11y ago
        The parent comment was in regard to Inter-Library Loans. But even if loans weren't available in the country I wouldn't assume all books would be purchased by individuals. For example donations, etc. According to the article the academic who writes the books doesn't have a say as to how many are printed or where they get distributed. And can't purchase extras if they wanted to give some away to people who they might want to collaborate with, etc.
      - dalke 11y ago
        I know of nothing, including the power grid and Google's home page, which works 'seamlessly'. If you live in the Caribbean and there's a hurricane then it will take extra time to process your ILL request, just like your power or internet service may go down. But OCLC Resource Sharing is used in 49 countries, so while it's not perfect, it is solidly present even in 'third world countries.' Yes, ILL works through public libraries and international public libraries. I volunteered with ILL in Santa Fe, NM and handled requests from Central America. I now live in a small city in Sweden and the closest library to me - 4 blocks away - handles ILL requests. Which I've used. But my point is that ILL was put into place to keep people from having to fly "to some obscure state University" to read someone's "magnum opus". Adding the internet doesn't mean that older solutions to the problem no longer exist.

coliveira 11y ago

The mistake here is that professors don't write for "every human in the world". They write specifically for a small number of people who are well versed in the research topic they work on. While it is possible that this information might be useful to others, this will usually happen as a consequence, not as the primary goal.

datashovel 11y ago
Yes, that is correct. But it's not to say that it's not what the professor would like. In the age of the internet (as is mentioned in the article) it seems pointless that in order for a specialist in my field to read my "magnum opus" you must fly out to some obscure state University and hope that (a) the University will allow them to check out the book being that they're not a member of that University, and (b) they think it's important enough to do so. Perhaps it was missed, but the article was written by a professor. The point isn't that all humans in the world would be able to comprehend (or even care) about the contents of the book. The point is that they should have access to it, and the professor (who supposedly cares deeply about what he/she studies / writes about) should want all humans in the world to have easy access to it). Something that is easy to achieve, but apparently not happening. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Srinivasa_Ramanujan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Srinivasa_Ramanujan Imagine where academics could be if, for example, people like Ramanujan had access early in their career to all of the most important ideas in their field of interest. The more obscure an idea or field of study, the harder it's going to be to get it into the right hands.
- dalke 11y ago
  There's no need to fly. Use Interlibrary Loan to get a copy of the book. It's weird but true that it's often cheaper for me to make an ILL request through my local library than it is to get a copy from the publisher. The only difference is that ILL request may take a week or three to fulfill.
  - datashovel 11y ago
    I'm assuming this works seamlessly with public libraries and international public libraries as well? Third world countries?
    - roel_v 11y ago
      What's your point? When $15 is a week or a month worth of wages, you're not going to buy the ebook or paperback of it either. Or are you saying that all academic books should be free? Why?
      - datashovel 11y ago
        The parent comment was in regard to Inter-Library Loans. But even if loans weren't available in the country I wouldn't assume all books would be purchased by individuals. For example donations, etc. According to the article the academic who writes the books doesn't have a say as to how many are printed or where they get distributed. And can't purchase extras if they wanted to give some away to people who they might want to collaborate with, etc.
    - dalke 11y ago
      I know of nothing, including the power grid and Google's home page, which works 'seamlessly'. If you live in the Caribbean and there's a hurricane then it will take extra time to process your ILL request, just like your power or internet service may go down. But OCLC Resource Sharing is used in 49 countries, so while it's not perfect, it is solidly present even in 'third world countries.' Yes, ILL works through public libraries and international public libraries. I volunteered with ILL in Santa Fe, NM and handled requests from Central America. I now live in a small city in Sweden and the closest library to me - 4 blocks away - handles ILL requests. Which I've used. But my point is that ILL was put into place to keep people from having to fly "to some obscure state University" to read someone's "magnum opus". Adding the internet doesn't mean that older solutions to the problem no longer exist.