> >> They've been working on the RepRap for nearly 20 years,
>   >> and currently it can replicate 70% of itself:
>   >>
>   >  >   https://reprap.org/wiki/RepRap
>   >
>   > Exactly!  This is the whole point.
>   >
>   > They could have created a lot of real value during these 20 years.
>
>   That seems like an odd take to me. Over those twenty years, an entire
>   community has learned *a lot* about technical innovation, systems
>   design, materials science, engineering, fault tolerances, and whole sets
>   of skills and experiences Ibm unqualified to speculate about.
>
>   I have no doubt that those experiences have enriched their lives,
>   improved their mental and physical dexterity, and helped them think
>   differently about other problems they face. And it has brought at least
>   some of them, perhaps many of them, joy.
>
>   What could possibly be more valuable than that?



They say a picture is worth a thousand words ...

Just have a look at this:
https://twitter.com/anttiviljami/status/1674672538390020097/photo/1



On Fri, Jul 7, 2023 at 1:22b/AM Norm Tovey-Walsh ndw@xxxxxxxxxx <
xsl-list-service@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> "Dimitre Novatchev dnovatchev@xxxxxxxxx" <
> xsl-list-service@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes:
> >> They've been working on the RepRap for nearly 20 years,
> >> and currently it can replicate 70% of itself:
> >>
> >  >   https://reprap.org/wiki/RepRap
> >
> > Exactly!  This is the whole point.
> >
> > They could have created a lot of real value during these 20 years.
>
> That seems like an odd take to me. Over those twenty years, an entire
> community has learned *a lot* about technical innovation, systems
> design, materials science, engineering, fault tolerances, and whole sets
> of skills and experiences Ibm unqualified to speculate about.
>
> I have no doubt that those experiences have enriched their lives,
> improved their mental and physical dexterity, and helped them think
> differently about other problems they face. And it has brought at least
> some of them, perhaps many of them, joy.
>
> What could possibly be more valuable than that?
>
>                                         Be seeing you,
>                                           norm
>
> --
> Norm Tovey-Walsh <ndw@xxxxxxxxxx>
> https://norm.tovey-walsh.com/
>
> > Life's a tough proposition, and the first hundred years are the
> > hardest.--Wilson Mizner