World of opinion
On collective knowledge:
In the decade since Wikipedia showed how it could be done, there has been an extraordinary democratization of knowledge. According to the free encyclopedia’s own wiki page (of course), its hundreds of thousands of volunteers have created 21 million articles in 283 languages. The sniffy caveats about the absence of professional expertise have long been eclipsed by the obsessive exuberance — and utility — of fact-sharing by numbers. The global accessibility of instantaneous general knowledge is one of the wonders of our age.
We are now seeing this principle of mass engagement extended into just about every corner of human inquiry, echoed by a hunger for learning and discussion that sees thousands turning out to listen to fresh ideas being debated… We’ve reported on the crowdsourcing of scientific research, the ways in which tasks that might once have taken years can now be achieved in hours and days by enlisting armies of willing research assistants equipped only with a laptop and a desire to be involved in increasing the sum of understanding. Galaxy Zoo, with its global community of avid stargazers, leads the way in this endeavor, but its model has been applied to other disciplines — from the curious souls who spend their evenings categorizing whale music to those who translate papyri, analyze oil paintings or map the spread of invasive species. …
The Internet provides the opportunity for that spirit of observation and engagement to be shared and focused. It also makes the argument for the power of collaboration over competition, for openness over secrecy, which might begin to break down some of the guarded and protective behaviors that have long characterized professional science. Open science, the free sharing of research, has a long way to go, but citizen science begins to show what working together might achieve.
The Guardian, London
On gay marriage, Catholic Church:
According to Britain’s Cardinal Keith O’Brien, countries — such as Canada — that legalize gay marriage are “shaming themselves” by defying natural law. This prince of the Church went so far as to use the word “grotesque” in his recent comments. While his language was harsh and his views regrettable, they are unsurprising.
The Pope recently denounced what he termed powerful political and cultural currents seeking to legalize gay marriage in the United States, where eight states now permit it.
The Roman Catholic Church has a rich theological and doctrinal tradition on which to base its opposition to gay marriage, and to condemn it, as O’Brien did, even as an “aberration” contributing to immorality. What is odd, and disturbing, however, is that the Cardinal did not justify his views only on the basis of church teaching, but also on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Responding to the current debate in Britain over gay marriage (the country permits civil unions between homosexuals, but not marriage), he said: “We’re taking standards which are not just our own, but standards from the Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations, where marriage is defined as a relationship between man and woman, and turning that on its head.”
The wording of the Declaration is not so clear as the Cardinal implies. To begin with, it does not say “man and woman,” but rather “men and women,” which allows for a broader interpretation. … There should, however, be no room for ambiguity left in a document that is at the foundation of our concept of human rights. If the United Nations’ statement of fundamental principles of human rights can be used to promote inequality for homosexuals, then it is failing in its duty to humanity. …
Far from shaming themselves, countries such as Canada are fulfilling the Declaration’s noble purpose.
The Globe and Mail, Ottawa
On Apple’s Chinese copyright violations:
Apple is in hot water yet again after 22 Chinese authors accused the U.S. tech-behemoth of selling unlicensed versions of their books via its online store and demanded millions of dollars in compensation.
This is not the first time the big-A has been accused of such copyright violations, a Chinese writer and several publishing agencies filed a similar suit in August, and in September six writers demanded 6.5 million yuan ($1 million) in compensation for copyright infringement of 23 books.
According to its guidelines Apple requires the developers to secure the rights to any material and certainly the finger of blame should first be pointed at the independent software developers in China who pirated the books in the first place.
Yet it remains to be seen whether Apple will successfully be able to totally pass the buck their way.
Apple likes to portray itself as a lifestyle leader, but it should also play a leading role in promoting copyright protection in China. Unfortunately at times like this, it seems it is focused solely on the ends rather than the means.
If Apple had conducted stricter examination regarding copyright affairs before purchasing the independent developers’ applications the dispute would never have arisen. …
Although the authorities at various levels have made remarkable efforts to strengthen law enforcement and supervision, China still has a long way to go. …
To fulfill its commitment to protecting intellectual property rights, Apple needs to take timely and effective measures to root out the pirated products in its online store and should use its undoubted clout to be a role model safeguarding intellectual property rights in the digital era.
China Today, Beijing