As I was walking to my class today, reading my book for a class on my Kindle, I was thinking about openness. Specifically, I was wishing that all books which I have bought also came with a digital copy that I could put on any reading device. Being in business, however, my immediate thought was money. This would create endless problems as digital files are every so easy to copy. Authors would not get paid as much as they want which would make them less likely to keep writing. Everyone wan't their share of money. I believe this to be the chief reason we continue to be a very closed society. People do not want to share their ideas because they want the money they could potentially get from developing that idea into a money making venture. I would even say that the reason many inventions arose was because someone wanted gain. This seems to be a two sided coin. On one hand there is a potential universe which Star Trek describes. Money does not exist and all information flows freely to everyone with any interest. Education is free and anyone can do anything they want without worrying about having to provide for themselves the basics of life. Sounds great, right? A world of openness. I, however, do not believe this would work for most people. A completely open world would quickly stagnate. There would be some production but without money (the only road I see to complete openness) would anyone truly be driven enough to progress society? If all books were free would anyone really be motivated enough to spend a good portion of their lives to research and write a text book? I am not sure, perhaps it is the business side of me thinking that everyone cares about money as much as I do. I will have to think on it more but in the meantime, what do you think? Can people share their ideas without being payed? Is a world of complete openness truly possible?