Philosophy
Contents
- 1 Writings, Musings, and Essays on Replicator Technology
- 1.1 Genesis
- 1.2 John von Neumann and the Universal Constructor
- 1.3 Technical, Biomimetic, and Economic aspects of RepRap
- 1.4 Chinese Growth Hurdles toward a New Great Wall
- 1.5 Aesthetics
- 1.6 Why Accountants are Dull and Guitarists are Glamourous - The End of Intellectual Property
- 1.7 Fallacy follows from the assumption that Adrian is intelligent
Writings, Musings, and Essays on Replicator Technology
executive summary of the project
This page contains links to articles and papers written by the RepRap researchers on the social, economic, and philosophical aspects of the RepRap project.
Genesis
How the RepRap Project came about and what it may mean if it is successful. This paper was written by AdrianBowyer just before he started the project to set out his initial ideas.
John von Neumann and the Universal Constructor
RepRap is a form of Universal Constructor. A Universal Constructor is a machine that can copy itself. The idea was originally von Neumann's.
Technical, Biomimetic, and Economic aspects of RepRap
This is a reprint of AdrianBowyer's keynote address on RepRap at the Seventh National Conference on Rapid Design, Prototyping & Manufacturing, at the Centre for Rapid Design and Manufacture in High Wycombe in June 2006.
Chinese Growth Hurdles toward a New Great Wall
An analysis by ForrestHiggs of the likely impact of RepRap on future Chinese industrial growth, looking at parallels with the growth of nineteenth-century mechanised agriculture in the USA.
Aesthetics
The stylistic effects that RepRap may have on product design and architecture.
Why Accountants are Dull and Guitarists are Glamourous - The End of Intellectual Property
This is an article by Adrian Bowyer on the evolutionary psychology of human creativity and how RepRap may facilitate an aspect of it that could eliminate intellectual property. It originally appeared in The TCT Magazine volume 15, issue 3, p33 in June 2007.
Fallacy follows from the assumption that Adrian is intelligent
Hilariously a bunch of intelligent design loonies have latched onto RepRap in the forlorn hope that it will boost their cause. In one or two places they approach (but don't quite hit) the argument, "Adrian Bowyer designed a self-replicating machine. Adrian Bowyer is intelligent*. Therefore all self-replicating machines need an intelligent designer." They have clearly never heard of the fallacy of propositional logic called affirming the consequent.
- An unestablished conjecture...
-- Main.AdrianBowyer - 26 Jul 2006
