An Open Source Principle: One Good Thing Leads To Another

“Remember the 1980s Fixx song One Thing Leads To Another? The
lyrics to that song play with the idea that one misbegotten thing,
such as a lie, can lead to more insidious things. Perhaps the flip
side of that idea has some merit, too, and exploring the fertile
territory that surrounds a good idea can lead to other good ideas
on a quick basis. If you think about it, that last concept is very
central to how the best aspects of open source work.

“When creators create, they don’t always imagine the natural
paths that their creations will take over time. After all, the
“geniuses” who founded Apple Computer had the original idea of
creating a better word processor–one that, unlike a typewriter,
could cut and paste text. Of course, Apple Computer has moved
beyond that idea.”

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