Cory Doctorow: The Street Finds its Own Use for the Law of Unintended Consequences.

It goes without saying that all of this innovation was only possible because users were free to tamper with their purchases. Watch young children at play: An action figure and a stuffed monkey and a sock puppet come together for an incongruous tea party, Lego bricks and an old tie become a rocket ship, a stack of sofa cushions are a fortress.

… When Hollywood asks us to enumerate the uses we’ll lose if it gets its way, we can’t. That’s innovation for you. If we could predict the future uses of new technology, they wouldn’t be innovative.

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