The Number

The recent controversy over "The Number" used to decrypt HD-DVD on digg.com really illuminates some interesting gaps in the 'public's mindset.

The hundreds of folks who spammed 'the number' over and over again on digg's site may or may not have been consciously aware of their belief, but it was acted out and illustrated in an undeniable way.

Information wants to be free. Ideas cannot be owned, and a government enforced monopoly on thought is doomed to the same corruption and failure as any other outmoded archaic system of oppression.

Try to cage an idea; it will slip out through the bars. You cannot put a fence around it, you cannot hang a sign on it and you cannot leash it in.

Ideas are not owned. Not yet, anyway.

I'm sure there are some technology moguls and privileged politicians out there who would be more than happy to hardwire everyones' brains with DRM, given the opportunity.