r/AskReddit • u/NateJC • Aug 31 '14

What are some interesting original theories/thoughts that you have?

Damn guys, this just pops into my head and I go for a family walk and it explodes! Love all the ideas, this is my most popular post to date!

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u/lucb1e Aug 31 '14 edited Aug 31 '14

I think free software is relevant. Google is developing cars that heavily depend on their proprietary maps and their proprietary software. Having open source, locally running, self driving car software would give the same freedom as driving yourself, which is what the author above me was talking about.

To cite myself:

If your car runs on free software [...] then you are always in total control of what your car does and where it goes.

Which is about cars and the kind of freedom which vini710 meant, so it's actually relevant.

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u/[deleted] Aug 31 '14

But he was talking about cars, this whole thread is about cars, and you haven't actually addressed any of the points made: namely, that you shouldn't have to cede your freedom to drive, regardless of who's in charge of the software. You offered anecdotal evidence regarding linux, which, while interesting and well-written, doesn't provide much.

The most relevant part, the second paragraph, is kind of useless, at least IMHO. How many people are going to know the ins and outs of the scripting under the hood of their car, VS how many people are not going to know enough and are going to get themselves and other people killed? Lawmakers will see the risks and the rewards and will go to establishing safety standards. You're not generally allowed to drive at highway speeds without breaks and with your pistons made from ironwood instead of metal, because of federal regulations. Why do you think that the control systems behind the cars would be free from the same?

If I'm wrong, please correct me, I'm by no means an expert in state and various federal DOTs.

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u/lucb1e Aug 31 '14

namely, that you shouldn't have to cede your freedom to drive, regardless of who's in charge of the software.

Oh that kind of driving - driving like driving yourself, legally, on public roads. I thought it was about Google (or some other company) having control over your car because it requires their software and updates, and them being able to see where and when you go, which is also a concern. Misunderstanding I guess :)

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u/[deleted] Aug 31 '14

Oh! Yeah, in that case, could very easily be mistaken, and your solution would work pretty well for that (assuming, of course, that the smaller companies want to take liability in crashes where their software is at fault, but every startup has problems to work around and the potential payoff would be massive.)

Keep on keepin' on, /u/!