Open Source is a Philosophy, Not a Checkbox

I just got back from the 2012 Open Science Summit which took place in Mountain View, CA. It was an excellent meeting and a great opportunity to meet others using open tools and ideas to forward Science! Check out the list of talks and you can also access videos of all of the talks. And you can also read more about the speakers.

I gave a talk too where I delved deeper into the science behind our work with RepRap for research in Regenerative Medicine and I made the case that open source is a philosophy, not a checkbox. Try not to get caught up in semantics of open vs. not-open (e.g. one could try to label Arduino as not an “open” platform since it has proprietary Atmel chips on the board). Instead, try to think of open projects as those in which you see people as collaborators (“open”), not customers (“closed”). We all have many things we can learn from each other, and who doesn’t want more collaborators to learn science together? Some interesting Q&A at the end too.

5 Replies to “Open Source is a Philosophy, Not a Checkbox”

  1. Very nice Jordan! Apart from the incredible work you do, your presentation and explanation are really superb. For somebody who knows nothing about 3D printers, open source, and cellular biology, I feel like I’ve now got a good grasp on what you’re trying to do. You’re probably the best explainer I’ve ever met.

  2. That was an absolutely fascinating presentation. I’m stunned by what you are doing and the excellent way in which you are doing it. Thank you.

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