Computer Sofware

What is Computer Software?
This page is an attempt to specify why I do not consider computer software to be speech nor software to be merely the algorithms it contains. The consequences of this are far reaching - much of the GNU philosophy is undermined (especially the GPL), software patents look even worse than before and the use of copyright law to protect computer software becomes obviously a poor choice.

We need a complete overhaul of Intellectual Property law for anything which can be wholly represented within a computer eg; computer software, music, video, books etc. Computers can copy data upon them for near-zero replication cost and thus enable a hitherto unknown paradigm of data plentifulness whereas before there was data scarcity. Attempting to enforce data scarcity in a world where that just doesn't exist anymore proves that current IP law has been made obsolete by computer technology - and this includes computer programs themselves.

If you have difficulty with the below, please refer to the logic of Wittgenstein & Bertrand Russell and Geoffrey Chew's bootstrap synthesis of quantum mechanics. The Web Of Life by Fritjof Capra is also recommended. I'm also no formally trained logician, so the below is not framed very formally and I'm sloppy with my language - but I don't think I've made any typing errors - my assertions are correct. Feel free to email me if you think I'm wrong.

1. Computer software is more than the algorithms it contains:

I assert:

  i. A human or CPU can execute a problem solution in software
  ii. Only a human can execute a problem solution in speech1
iii. Only a human can execute a problem solution in maths2
[1]: Speech here means ordinary language as used by an ordinary human with no special training eg; expertise in maths or some academic qualification. See below for why speech is a subset of computer software.

[2]: Maths here is pure maths (algorithms), not formal specification - which is in fact computer... [continues]

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