On Greek Debt. How much we owe them
Created | Updated Oct 23, 2011
In our modern whirled the notions of copyright,
proprietorial rights, trademarks and patents
are the basis of our economy.
Every time someone buys a Beatles record, a Terry
Pratchett novel or puts a Mickey Mouse on their
product, a fee or royalty is paid for the right
to use someone else's intellectual property.
So how much do we owe Greece?
They gave us Platonic relationships, Epicurean delights,
Corinthian leather, Doric columns, Socratic dialogues,
Spartan environments and Pyrrhic victories.
They created the scientific method and a basic understanding
that physics and chemistry can be manipulated to develop new
technologies. Euclid should be getting a residual royalty fee
every time a satellite goes into orbit.
Their ideas and insights are the basis of modern civilisation.
Shouldn't all musicians give them a percentage of earnings
for inventing the chromatic scale?
How much do playwrights and screenwriters owe them for
creating the theatre? Hollywood owes them Big Time.
And don't you think we ought to find some meaningful way
to thank them for Democracy?
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This was the first post of this thread:
http://h2g2.com/dna/h2g2/alabaster/F19585?thread=8282506&post=110449459#p110449459
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proprietorial rights, trademarks and patents
are the basis of our economy.
Every time someone buys a Beatles record, a Terry
Pratchett novel or puts a Mickey Mouse on their
product, a fee or royalty is paid for the right
to use someone else's intellectual property.
So how much do we owe Greece?
They gave us Platonic relationships, Epicurean delights,
Corinthian leather, Doric columns, Socratic dialogues,
Spartan environments and Pyrrhic victories.
They created the scientific method and a basic understanding
that physics and chemistry can be manipulated to develop new
technologies. Euclid should be getting a residual royalty fee
every time a satellite goes into orbit.
Their ideas and insights are the basis of modern civilisation.
Shouldn't all musicians give them a percentage of earnings
for inventing the chromatic scale?
How much do playwrights and screenwriters owe them for
creating the theatre? Hollywood owes them Big Time.
And don't you think we ought to find some meaningful way
to thank them for Democracy?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This was the first post of this thread:
http://h2g2.com/dna/h2g2/alabaster/F19585?thread=8282506&post=110449459#p110449459
----------------------------------------------------------------------
