Re: Does it make sense to hide inventions?

royls_at_telus.net
Date: 06/19/04 

Date: Sat, 19 Jun 2004 01:32:59 GMT

On 18 Jun 2004 13:56:09 -0700, pilixtix@yahoo.com (Pili) wrote:

>I know there is an argument somewhere, but does it makes economical
>sense to hide an invention or to oppose change when it benefits lots
>of people?

Certainly there are cases, like inventions that could be used as cheap
WMDs, where governments try to keep the technology secret for
perfectly good reasons.

But you were talking about beneficial technologies. Suppose somebody
came up with a technique for restoring youth. That would benefit lots
of people. But suppose it was also very, very expensive, and the
supply could not be expanded indefinitely, at any price. Letting
something like that out could cause serious social and economic
disruptions.

-- Roy

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