This weekend was decidedly mixed.
Thanksgiving was, of course, splendid. Any holiday that pulls family together and offers two days off from work gets a recommendation from me. Friday after an exciting breakfast with Abby and Ted, I got a haircut and then tried to zip back to CT in time for Kung Fu. I didn’t make it in time, so instead I went to Tony and Paulette’s place for some pizza and some Guitar Hero III.
Most of Saturday was spent researching my paper.
Let’s talk paper for a second.
The class is international business. What I need to do is write a 10 page single spaced paper that talks about something relating to international business. I want to write about intellectual property. My original thesis was an attempt to try and show that the sharing of intellectual property with developing countries is better for mankind. But right now, after a few weeks of research I want to say that really… we need something totally different. Capitalism based intellectual property hoarding seems to work, but it’s not very efficient. Peer Production seems genius and super efficient, but there are some fundamental difficulties that relate to what sorts of markets can benefit from creative donated collaboration.
If we look through the Kaleidoscope of Geekery, we’ll notice that Star Trek operated off of a Peer Production basis where the characters were not rewarded with monetary funds but instead with notoriety. Of course they had replicators for food. Star Wars was a capitalistic society. Perhaps my thesis should talk about what changes would be necessary from our current international business system if we were to start engaging in intergalactic business.
Anyway, my changing my thesis to “we need something new” is weak. It’s not quite specific enough – nor does it have as much to do with international business. So with a monster paper due in four days… I don’t know what to do.
Continuing with the weekend, Saturday night I watched the new Die Hard movie with the Scott family. It was hilariously fun. Sunday was spent working on the paper, doing chores, and playing about two hours of Rockband.
Now, it’s totally cool if you want to criticize me for playing Rockband when I have a huge paper due because Rockband… is probably the most amazing game ever. With Shaun on the guitar and me on the drums… well… it was two hours of intensity like none other.
Are you saying that the sharing of intellectual property with developing countries is NOT better for mankind? That sounds like a good topic to me. I suggest you expand on that and see where it goes.
Just out of curiosity, do you write your papers in a professional, textbook sort of way, or do you write in a more conversational tone? I used to write the former, but the more papers I wrote, the more I got into theorizing and writing as though I were telling a story. My professors always liked my papers, so I guess anything goes.
In my papers in college, I always tried to pull off ridiculous assonance or alliteration, or both, in my thesis.
The general consensus from the international business community seems to be that our system of international business is broken. We need something new. But no one has thought of anything excitingly new yet.
I think the sharing of intellectual property with developing nations could be something new and something that’s really really awesome. But history shows us that peer production (sharing of ideas) works best in specific environments. And I’m not sure if undeveloped countries fit the bill.
Once I finish my paper I’ll post it.
Because this is a research paper, I’m writing in a very professional tone. I’m trying to support my ideas with proven research and topics so that someone who reads my ideas can understand where they came from. It’s been really fun… but it’s a huge endeavor.
I’m tired.
This is the kind of thing that makes me glad my college days are behind me. I think free pizza would make the world a better place, but I don’t suggest you use that in your paper, especially as it really has nothing to do with the topic.
I feel your pain friend I just turned in my research paper on Monday which meant that I spent the majority of my break looking at 100 year old paper in the library. Anyway, maybe you could write something about how new ideas are not shared in the capitalistic system, like the rights to innovations being bought up by corporations to protect profits and prevent competition. Just a thought, good luck.
I’ve pretty much given up on buying the new Guitar Hero iterations, but OH MY GOD Rock band looks so awesome. If I could afford the tons of accessories (2 guitars, mic, and drums) I would so buy that thing. Maybe when I win the lottery.