Author: Robert Hyatt
Date: 08:18:48 10/31/99
Go up one level in this thread
On October 31, 1999 at 02:08:57, Ed Schröder wrote: >On October 30, 1999 at 12:04:18, Fernando Villegas wrote: > >>The long thread which is esentially a discussion between Bob H. and Ed S. has >>something surrealistic in it. Bob is -or was- arguing that commercial guys does >>not contribute to the field because they are secretive of his little tricks and >>just like to make technical profit from non commercial guys ideas; Ed is saying >>-or said- that's not really true, as much this and that technique was delivered >>by this or that commercial programmer. >>Bob is the purest case of non commercial, not money interested reasercher and >>his child Crafty the paradigm of the freeware world; Ed is the purest case of >>professional commercial progammer, enterily dedicated to that since ever, with >>the best developed commercial site, constant attention to his customers, etc, >>etc. How guys so opposed in needs, interest and position in life can even meet >>in a common ground to share even a definition about what is the issue under >>discussion? >>Ed earns a life selling his products and so he should be a fool to give his >>relatives advantages to his competence; the esence of his work is to keep his >>trade secrets the longest time he can. Bob is a scientist that earns his life >>teaching and researching in an university; the esence of his work is becoming >>public the soon as possible to get recognition from his peers and help his field >>to give another step. >>So clearly they cannot cut a deal even it such thing appears to happen due to >>good manners and a mutual desire to end the discussion with some kind of >>diplomatic uinderstanding. They even does not understand in the same way what is >>a new idea. For Bob is just matter of who was the guy that first wrote about the >>discussed issue in a scientific magazine; for Ed is a matter of who was the guy >>that put the idea to work in an efficient way. The same with colaboration; for >>Bob, as scientist, is about sharing concepts and discoveries; for Ed, as a >>commercial guy, is a mater of cooperation for mutual -not universal- benefice. >>Ed is prepared to share his ideas with Theron because both of them are joined in >>a common commercial adventure; as much as he does so, he surely see himself as a >>man that cooperates after all for the advancement of the field. For Bob nothing >>less than to communicate his thought to the entire world is enough. >>Who is right' Nobody is. They are different persons in differents situations, >>each of them doing his best and producing universal benefice in dfferent ways, >>one direct, the other more indirect. And we need both approachs. What a >>scientist can get in the atmosphere of university campus probably concnetrates >>in the area of pure research; what a commercial technics can gets the better is >>getting general ideas works better and better. Sooner or later both ways meets >>and the entire field jump o a higher level. >>Fernando > >I don't think I would behave different if Rebel wasn't a commercial program >regarding contributions. For me the item of competing would remain decisive. > >Ed My only comment would be: "thank goodness that Newell, Shaw and Simon, I.A. Goode, Richard Greenblatt, Slate/Atkins, Thompson, Truscott, Kozdrowicki, Campbell, Marsland, Hsu, Beal, Nalimov, Hienz, Cracraft, Donninger, Myself, Nelson, Berliner, Goetsch, Daily, Kaufman, Feldman, ... enough already ... didn't agree with you. Imagine where computer chess would be today if _they_ had decided that 'the item of competing would remain decisive...'" I don't even want to think about it... I understand limited-duration secrecy. But not 'forever'. I've been giving source away forever. There is a guy on ICC (bigblue) that is running a copy of blitz he got from me in 1978, although he has modified it over the years so that it is hardly 'blitz' any longer. But it got _him_ started.
This page took 0 seconds to execute
Last modified: Thu, 15 Apr 21 08:11:13 -0700
Current Computer Chess Club Forums at Talkchess. This site by Sean Mintz.