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I know many may disagree but I'm curious about this movement of 'publicly funded should be publicly available' wouldn't this infringe on national competitivenes

I know many may disagree but I'm curious about this movement of 'publicly funded should be publicly available' wouldn't this infringe on national competitiveness? Like India nor the USA didn't funded these studies but...those people will have access to these research papers? Talk about a free lunch. And potentially demotivating to other countries, as they could be like 'well, EU did it...let's lower our investments in research'. It's my opinion that there should be a gateway and one must us their state ID or something. And if you are at a public library, easy access. But not public to the whole world. Edited: I'm heading to sleep and I'd like to discuss this to those that want to. I'll return to the thread in about 24 hours as I have a busy day tomorrow.

mindcrime 10y ago
wouldn't this infringe on national competitiveness? A rising tide lifts all boats...
- zo1 10y ago
  This makes no sense. A "tide" just happens, it doesn't get "created" or "caused" by anyone, which is the case for public scientific research. A crucial difference. What's really going on here is that some individuals aren't exactly happy/eager/willing about giving away, for free, things that they have funded personally funded (through taxes). This is a perfectly reasonable opinion to hold. It's the same reason we have things such as patents. So as to reward individuals and groups that create something new. They then get exclusive rights to the profits/benefits that such an invention creates. Yet somehow if it applies to nation states, that no longer holds?
  - mindcrime 10y ago
    This makes no sense. A "tide" just happens, it doesn't get "created" or "caused" by anyone, which is the case for public scientific research. It's an analogy, and all analogies are somewhat flawed. The point is, increasing the overall pool of scientific knowledge throughout the world makes life better for everybody in the long run. I mean, if somebody in Botswana invents the first viable fusion reactor, and publishes a paper for free, maybe Botswana as a country won't get "oil country rich" off of it. But as cheap, plentiful electricity spreads around the world, everybody, everywhere, will have a better life as a result. That's what I mean by "a rising tide lifts all boats". It's the same reason we have things such as patents. So as to reward individuals and groups that create something new. They then get exclusive rights to the profits/benefits that such an invention creates. Yet somehow if it applies to nation states, that no longer holds? You're asking the wrong person, because I am opposed to patents in general. shrug
IanCal 10y ago
What would be the reasoning behind dropping funding? That you can read the output of another country instead of duplicating work? I doubt heavily that would happen but even if it did that'd be a good thing. > It's my opinion that there should be a gateway and one must us their state ID or something. A full, international login system for every person in the EU just in case someone else in the world might want to read a paper? That sounds expensive and complicated compared to just using the web as it exists.
- heimatau 10y ago
  Sure, it may be expensive but it would be good to ensure those that paid for it receive it.
  - IanCal 10y ago
    You don't need to do that to ensure those that paid for it receive it, just to stop others. As a taxpayer I really don't want to spend even more of my money for worse access.
Scarblac 10y ago
Those other countries already have universities that have buy access to the journals that the papers appear in. Research isn't secret. It's just expensive to access for normal people.

mindcrime 10y ago

wouldn't this infringe on national competitiveness? A rising tide lifts all boats...

zo1 10y ago
This makes no sense. A "tide" just happens, it doesn't get "created" or "caused" by anyone, which is the case for public scientific research. A crucial difference. What's really going on here is that some individuals aren't exactly happy/eager/willing about giving away, for free, things that they have funded personally funded (through taxes). This is a perfectly reasonable opinion to hold. It's the same reason we have things such as patents. So as to reward individuals and groups that create something new. They then get exclusive rights to the profits/benefits that such an invention creates. Yet somehow if it applies to nation states, that no longer holds?
- mindcrime 10y ago
  This makes no sense. A "tide" just happens, it doesn't get "created" or "caused" by anyone, which is the case for public scientific research. It's an analogy, and all analogies are somewhat flawed. The point is, increasing the overall pool of scientific knowledge throughout the world makes life better for everybody in the long run. I mean, if somebody in Botswana invents the first viable fusion reactor, and publishes a paper for free, maybe Botswana as a country won't get "oil country rich" off of it. But as cheap, plentiful electricity spreads around the world, everybody, everywhere, will have a better life as a result. That's what I mean by "a rising tide lifts all boats". It's the same reason we have things such as patents. So as to reward individuals and groups that create something new. They then get exclusive rights to the profits/benefits that such an invention creates. Yet somehow if it applies to nation states, that no longer holds? You're asking the wrong person, because I am opposed to patents in general. shrug

IanCal 10y ago

What would be the reasoning behind dropping funding? That you can read the output of another country instead of duplicating work? I doubt heavily that would happen but even if it did that'd be a good thing. > It's my opinion that there should be a gateway and one must us their state ID or something. A full, international login system for every person in the EU just in case someone else in the world might want to read a paper? That sounds expensive and complicated compared to just using the web as it exists.

heimatau 10y ago
Sure, it may be expensive but it would be good to ensure those that paid for it receive it.
- IanCal 10y ago
  You don't need to do that to ensure those that paid for it receive it, just to stop others. As a taxpayer I really don't want to spend even more of my money for worse access.

Scarblac 10y ago

Those other countries already have universities that have buy access to the journals that the papers appear in. Research isn't secret. It's just expensive to access for normal people.