I keep opening up this file to write something related to the#

Tue, 02 Apr 2002 01:17:27 +0000

I keep opening up this file to write something related to the ongoing comp.lang.lisp thread(s) on free^WFree software, then my will deserts me again. I've just got through reading (more accurately, skimming) all the stuff that happened over the weekend, so let's try again.

Free software may destroy the market for proprietary software. It would be unfortunate if that happened insofar as employees and owners of proprietary software companies would have to find something else to do. It's unfortunate that companies leveraging the expressiveness and flexibility of Lisp are adversely affecting the owners and employees of companies trying to do the same thing in 8080 assembler. It's unfortunate that the invention and subsequent production of the spade caused all the people previously employed to dig holes with their bare hands to go out of business.

So it's not just a free software problem, it's a technology problem. The technologies that were supposed to increase our leisure time have actually managed to increase the leisure time of some people to all of the time, and left other people working 80 hour weeks.

What can we do? We can pretend the whole thing will go away if we ignore it. We can decide that some people (e.g. Lisp vendors) are more valuable than others (hot metal press operators) and therefore only some jobs are worth safeguarding. Or what else? Work less? (Suits me, anyway ;-)

Ideas?