Richard D. Feinman wrote:
>I said I would give you all the money you need. Now
money is taken care
>of. Is OA a good idea? I will take your answer as a
yes.
In such a thought-experiment, unlimited financial resources
for publication
would also lead to unlimited prices charged to authors, as
there would be
no incentive for publishers to contain costs and market
prices approach
infinity. [1] If taxpayers want accountability for the
funds that flow
into research, such a world of unlimited resources may not
be the one you
chose to live in. While not ideal, this may be "the
best of all possible
worlds" (Leibniz)
[1] Argument based on Reductio ad absurdum, or proof by
contraction. see:
htt
p://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reductio_ad_absurdum
Phil Davis
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