Richard Stallman on Education and the Free Software Movement

educationreimagined.com

5 pointssandal4 comments

Could someone explain to me why he numbers his list of four points starting from 0?

Wikipedia says this is because of zero-based numbering on computers: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_software#Definition

But I vaguely remember something about there originally being three on the list and Freedom 0 being added later. Since I can't find a reference, I'll chalk that up as a rumor.

Thank you. I get the zero-based numbering concept and appreciate the wikipedia link, I am coming at it from the angle of the first rule of communication is to be understood and it seems that numbering a list from zero is an affectation that probably ultimately only distracts from the message. I mean, why not number the list in binary if one is so intrinsically leet?

Hah, well... Stallman often heads in the other direction from what you've described. It has worked for him, in some sense, but it can come across as abrasive.

It also might be a historical accident. The freedoms are something he cooked up a long time ago before there was such a thing as non-technical computer users. Might have been more appropriate then than now.

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