Why Open Source Makes Sense: Scientifically Proven

Published on May 27, 2010 in General by Rami Taibah

Check out this video below. Its basically an animation about an MIT social experiment, where sociologist found a bizarre pattern when it came to work and incentives. When the task at hand was a mundane and a repetitive task, money was found as perfect incentive. However, when the task required “rudimentary cognitive” skills, money, it turns out, wasn’t the best incentive. This makes perfect sense when we look at the amazing open source projects out there. From Linux to Wikipedia to Open Street Map, all these project tap into this basic human behavior.

Google has its 20% rule, which fostered many of the companies top products. Apple is a one man show, this video can explain the company’s success to some extent. While Microsoft has grown into a huge behemoth, its no wonder we don’t see much innovation from them lately.

What are your thoughts?

About Rami Taibah

Rami Taibah the founder of The Linuxologist and a self proclaimed geek and Linux aficionado. This fall, he will be pursuing an MIMS degree at UC Berkeley, California. You can follow him on Twitter @rtaibah.

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  • good blog, thanks
  • AMAZING RESEARCH AND VIDEO A MUST WATCH
  • I've been scratching my head about this for a while. Great illustration. Productivity doesn't have to be inspired by reward.
  • InaTux
    "Left-wing socialist conspiracy"? You have been listening to a little too much Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck. I thought an MIT professor would be better than that.
  • Not real smart, are you?

    He was saying it could easily SOUND like a left-wing, socialist conspiracy... but that it's actually not.
  • InaTux
    I am aware of his sarcasm. This "left-wing socialist conspiracy" that it SOUNDS like, doesn't exist, never has. There are no left-wing socialist conspiracies. The fact that he is referencing it, means he has a misguided opinion of the democratic / liberal political parties. He's been listening to a little too much Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck, as I said before.
  • Guest
    I am aware of his sarcasm. This "Left-wing socialist conspiracy" that it SOUNDS like, doesn't exist, never has. The fact that he is referencing it, means he has a misguided opinion of the democratic/liberal political parties. He's been listening to a little too much Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck, as I said before.
  • InaTux
  • Congress needs a pay cut?
  • YigPoo
    Sounds good to me dude, I like it.

  • Very interesting, although i must disagree with your Microsoft comment- anyone that's been watching the company over the last 20 years can see that as of late they have had nothing short of innovation after innovation, from their new mobile OS to Windows 7, it seems they're FINALLY starting to listen to this, pay their people well, and then just get out of their way. The Courier concept is an excellent example, and while it has been put aside for now, it shows what MS is really capable of.
  • mikedfreeman
    Haven't seen their mobile OS, but I don't see the innovation in Windows 7. Yeah, it's relatively pretty to look at. Yeah, they have a couple usability features (although they're not nearly worth the money they've invested in advertizing them). But all that aside, how is W7 really all that different than XP? It's all sugar coating that people are going gaga over. Look into core functionality, and it's pretty much the same thing we've seen for decades. Nothing really all that innovative in my opinion.
  • danrabbit
    Uh.. we are talking about the same Microsoft and Windows right? I wouldn't go so far as to say they are making any innovation at all. They are simply playing catch up. People are starting to realize they have choices and don't have to put up with crappy Microsoft products, so they are responding by releasing a product that is almost as good as its competitors... and saying that its almost as good as its competitors is extremely generous IMHO
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