So I watched a few feeds online (specifically on my professor's blog) to try to understand this concept better, and I found out why open access really is extremely attractive. MIT announced a while ago that they were going to have open course ware. That means professor's methods, course outlines, syllabi, and other raw materials would be available for free on the web. They believed this would significantly increase the quality of education in and outside of the school. Schools in third world countries would be able to use and adapt the MIT materials found online in order to improve their school systems. Students at MIT would be able to view all the courses and methods used by professors in a major before actually declaring a certain major. That way, they would know what they were getting into beforehand and it could help them decide on what path they should take. Professors at the school would know what their colleagues were doing in their classes, and therefore would be able to improve their own classes and methods. Many questioned whether attendance at the school would decrease because courses would be basically available for free to anyone, even if they weren't paying tuition. The school contended that real education involved interaction between a professor and a student. Open course ware is simply publication, not instruction, and so a decrease in enrollment isn't expected as long as students want that real education. The school admitted that in the end the program would actually cost money, but the faculty was prepared and committed to supporting the program. The instructors didn't expect any money to come from open course ware, but they did hope to have a positive influence on the world, which is what all educators really want.
In another video I watched about openness, the speaker argued that openness is about being generous. We can't horde our information or our knowledge. And really, education is sharing. We impart knowledge without losing any. And when that knowledge is online, the reaching effect is exponential.
Outside of the classroom, open science allows for collaborative work to solve tough problems. Many scientists sharing information and research can help each other find answers faster. The rate of discovery would be unfathomable. But first scientists actually have to contribute. In one of the videos I watched, the speaker explained that many wikis have been created specifically for open scientific purposes, but have failed because no one contributed information. A scientist makes money publishing articles, and if he/she gives away information online, how will they make money off their data? It isn't their job to participate in the open science movement, so why make it a priority? The speaker argued that we should make it part of their job. Scientists need motivation to contribute their data to the open science movement. The speaker also said he believed any publicly funded science should be open science.
It all sounds wonderful. Education, scientific discoveries, software, and even government can be improved and accelerated if they become collaborative and open to the world. But I still don't understand something. If everyone shares their information, how will scientists, software developers and others who share openly make money? It sounds like openness depends on generosity, which is great. Of course we need more charity and selflessness today. But if openness doesn't benefit anyone financially, can we really expect people in a capitalist system to contribute?
I guess the fact that I'm writing a blog kind of shows that I, at least, want to share my thoughts, even if I don't make money off of it. But it's not my job to write this blog. No matter how good or bad this post is, it won't affect my ability to pay my bills this month. A scientist's job is to discover and study, and if he can write an article about it, he gets money. If his work is online, in the open, and available for collaborative work, how does he get the credit for his discovery and therefore receive payment? Maybe there's something else I'm missing here, but it doesn't seem possible for your full time job to be open. I would love to hear comments because I'm stumped.
