An interesting article, but I think its main point can be summed up as "Look at all these dumbos holding signs saying to end slavery, when interviewed they can'

An interesting article, but I think its main point can be summed up as "Look at all these dumbos holding signs saying to end slavery, when interviewed they can't even give good reasons! Haha, here's a few reasons why slavery is actually good!" Nearly every big cause, right or wrong, has its supporters that may have just happened to be on that side, or thought about it seriously once and have since forgotten the details, or indeed have written many essays or books about the subject. I'm sure there are pieces more elegant and detailed than this that argue for abolishing the patent system; characterizing a position by the existence of uninformed supporters seems useless to me since pretty much all positions have those. The sentiment of educating the masses is nice, and I can agree with it, but on the other hand this is why we have skill specialization--I can give some money to someone who has spent lots and lots of time on the issues to continue their fight, I don't have to spend the same amount of time myself. I know basic algebra looks brilliant to most ordinary people scared of math but I thought "Patents publicly disclose some of the most advanced work ever done by some of the most creative and resourceful people in history, and it’ll all be free for the taking in several years" particularly amusing after the Apple screenshot. For startups and other companies outside the Valley (where there's a strong sense of sharing), how often do actual game-changing things get patented instead of made into a trade secret?