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Next up on HN: Physical theft is simply movement of atoms from one position to another position.
by cscurmudgeon 3y ago
Next up on HN:
Physical theft is simply movement of atoms from one position to another position.
- musicale 3y agoIn file sharing, the atoms largely stay put, though some electrons and photons might move a bit. Therefore, not theft. ;-)
- function_seven 3y agoIf you steal baryons, it’s “theft”. If you steal leptons, it’s “piracy”. Pretty simple, really.
- ndriscoll 3y agoThe electrons barely move, so you're not stealing leptons. Also, generally filesharing involves someone freely giving you copies of files, so you're not stealing from them in any case. It's more like the "I consent, I consent, I don't" meme.
- function_seven 3y agoNot only that, but my joke fails when it comes to stringing up a wire alongside a high-voltage power line. (Like that urban legend about the farmer who got "free" energy by stringing the wire along his fence) Not only is our farmer not taking the actual leptons from the power line, but he's actually stealing something from the EM field. Our farmer only has claim to his wheat field, Edison owns the EM field. I guess particle classification is completely irrelevant to property law. https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/3520/is-it-possible-to-obtain-current-indirectly-from-power-lines?rq=1 https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/3520/is-it-poss...
- gaganyaan 3y agoIf you're just going to comment with a strawman, you probably shouldn't have commented at all.