The author of Linux poised to shape software and society: Development of free operating system tracing path of King James Bible attempts to link the influence that the King James Bible had on the English speaking world and the society in general with the potential that the Linux as an open source operating system can potentially influence the software development world and the society.
The analogy presented is an interesting one riding on the similarities of the collaborative writing process of the King James and the collaborative process in the development of Linux:
"The fundamental story of the Bible had existed for a thousand years by the time James and his crew took a crack at it. The information it contains is pretty much the same as all other bibles, but how that information is presented is as important. The second fact of its composition is that a committee of 50 did it. It is a monumental work of literature (in addition to its religious importance) ... and what other work of similar import was written by such a large group rather than a single brilliant author? Finally, it was open (written in compelling and accessible language available to the average person of the time) and wasn't copywrited."
"Sounds like Linux."
"While started by one man (Linus Torvalds) it has since been improved and perfected by thousands of programmers. The Linux system tells computers how to live their little silicon lives."
While the analogy is interesting it also raises a lots of questions on the appropriateness of its use. For example, it states that the Bible in English "was written" when it was a translation. There is no doubt about the benefit of one vs. collaborative effort. However, the significance of translation vs. authorship is not well explained. So, the argument is confined, limited, and based on the analogy of individual vs. collaborative effort.
Can the individual vs. collaborative effort analogy be used to imply inference that the open source OS (such as Linux) can be to the software development as the King James Bible was to the English speaking world and the society in general?
Any comments?
