[Search-l] A Theory: Harmony of Motivations

[Aerik Sylvan]

Someone far smarter than I has probably already said this far better
than I can say it, but I was thinking about the lack of harmony
between motivations, and how one of the really cool things this
project is trying to do is to find a balance.  Here's what I mean:
The most common and obvious motivator is business - to make a buck (we
all need a few bucks to survive, so that's a given).  Also inherent in
people, to varying degrees, is the artistic motivation.  Lastly, is
the charitable motivation - doing something solely for the betterment
of humanity.

So I was thinking how it's interesting that charity and art are very
compatible, but when someone does art for commercial purposes, it's
perceived that the primary motivator has shifted to the commercial.
They've "sold out".  And I was thinking about the extreme views of
intellectual property in this light; how on the one hand there is the
commercial motivation that wants to get ahead by owning everything,
and on the other the view that letting everyone have access to that
knowledge will result in the betterment of humanity (the charitable
motivator).

So, what's beautiful about this project (wikia search) is that it
seeks to harmoniously combine motivations.  It's a huge challenge, but
I think it's one of the great social problems of modern times.

(And I just thought there might be folks in this group who would be
interested in this perspective and maybe interested in discussing it.)

By the way, Happy Holidays, everybody.

Aerik


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