Hello, On Tue, 08 Sep 2009, Aanjhan R wrote: > "Tyrants" - Google gives me the following synonym (a cruel and > oppressive dictator )
While I do not approve of tit-for-tat, consider how the proprietary software industry throws around the word "pirate"! > Imagine he speaking on them creating the next "linux" kernel. Do you > really think the majority of kids will get inspired and their > creativity circuits in their brain triggered by that? Unfortunately, you are right. They would also not recognise many important scientists. Most school kids probably think of Bill Gates as a computer scientist and would say "Alan Turing? Who?" There is indeed a fine line between a leader leading so that his followers can follow and a so-called "leader" who just says what he thinks his "people" want to hear. In this case, Obama is trying to underline the importance of innovation (scientists/engineers) as a career over the usual management/sales jobs. To my mind that is a good thing. The choice of example (iPhone/Steve Jobs) is not as relevant as long as it conveys the message. As long as his government is aware of this distinction and does not support the proprietary software industry in its anti-innovative practices, we should not complain too much. Regards, Kapil. -- _______________________________________________ To unsubscribe, email ilugc-requ...@ae.iitm.ac.in with "unsubscribe <password> <address>" in the subject or body of the message. http://www.ae.iitm.ac.in/mailman/listinfo/ilugc