Sharing an idea doesn't really devalue it, it increases its value. Keeping ideas private seems sensible -- in that you gain individually, but it doesn't make se

Sharing an idea doesn't really devalue it, it increases its value. Keeping ideas private seems sensible -- in that you gain individually, but it doesn't make sense globally. The situation can be addressed with the economic concepts of 'gains from trade' and 'absolute advantage'. It is better for countries to trade freely because they all gain from the different strengths of each. In a similar way it is better for ideas to be shared: each idea can very likely be implemented differently or better by other people -- from which everyone gains.