4 thoughts on “Czech Myself Before I Wreck Myself”

  1. Great video Nina Paley!
    People need to share this idea to a lot of people more. 😉

  2. Dear Ms Paley,
    I am a very big fan of your work and ideas, they are open-minded and expansive. It is very clear that you have good intent and will toward mankind.

    Though I agree with your overall message about the necessity of sharing information, I do have discrepancies to which I would be honored to have you clarify.

    In order for me to open this “window”, you will have to know a bit about myself. I am an interdisciplinary engineer. My main focus has been on electrical engineering, with strong knowledge in mechanical engineering, robotics, as well as neurology. Though it may sound like a lot, I would like to focus on cybernetics from an educational standpoint, which requires information from all of these disciplines. This encourages your concept of sharing information. As interdisciplinary science becomes more popular I am sure will happen, if the engineering and science societies start allowing more free-flowing information amongst themselves. Which is one goal I would like to have helped achieve in my lifetime.

    On the other hand, my goal of which to channel my accumulated knowledge, is to become an entrepreneur, which is where I have my discrepancies. The life of an entrepreneur shares many traits with that of a bohemian. We often live amongst our own kind. (which does not mean I do not have friends who are not in my disciplines)We are often impoverished until our first real work comes into being a reality, and even if so sometimes to not get credit for our work until we have passed.

    To give you real examples: Thomas Edison, whose first laboratory was in his mother’s kitchen, or Einstein himself, who lived impoverished in an apartment above the patent office where he was employed before he created his theories as well as Charles Goodyear, who never properly acquired the capitol or full potential of capitol which was his due before he passed.

    Though I do not equate myself to these great minds, I do have a desire to join their ranks, and every man has a right to a dream. Unfortunately without copyright law none of this would have occurred.

    Unlike an artist, the engineer, scientist (or doctor), or mathematician, requires years of gathering information, be it in an institution, or self taught. I do not discredit artists who have had an education, but it is not of the same difficulty and often meticulous work that needs to be collected in order for the ideas/inventions to even have the credit to establish ones-self. It is also not equivalent of the large amounts of research, experimentation, labor (which nowadays can be in the hundreds of employees), and expenses required to do so.

    The patent does provide a type of protection for the product itself, but the copyright is the guardian of the information and research. Because the source of the livelihood of the entrepreneur is both the research and the product one can conclude that the loss of copyright equivocates to the loss of livelihood, as well as motivation to be an entrepreneur in the first place, when any one of hundreds could take an idea and use it in another locale for their own benefit.

    As a man who lives in fact lives in a basement, with only enough possessions to carry upon my back, my most prized possessions would be my knowledge, insight, and ability to connect ideas. And though I have no objections to expanding on my ideas, it would be proper courtesy to ask permission for my work rather than take it (which if you have hundreds doing research for you is much harder to protect)which to me is plunder, let alone theft. This is the same research that must become open information if it is to be used as a common product to the populace. Thus one can conclude that copyright is in fact necessary in some aspects.

    well, that is my input, I would love a personalized response if possible, as I very much value your input and ideas as to the other side of the coin.

    Sincerely,
    Majid Rayes

  3. Very interesting mini-lecture! Artists should be free to be inspired by the creations of others. If I draw an image while looking at the creation of another artist, this is called a ‘derivative’ image, and if it is from a modern art piece, this is considered very bad. But artists learn by imitation. As long as we acknowledge our sources, we should be free to do ‘derivative’ art. How derivative can it be before we can make a profit on it, that is a complex question. It would be wrong to steal from the potential livelihood of another artist. Meanwhile, this should be a simple thing. Simply to give credit and a link, is that so hard for people to do? I find my photos popping up EVERYWHERE. I wouldn’t mind if people give me credit.
    This so often happens when sharing my photos of ancient Egyptian artifacts. This lack of credit is also a damming up of information flow. The more that is revealed, along with the photographer’s name, such as in which museum the artifact dwells, the accession#, etc, the more we can know. Let ALL the information flow!

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