The blog posted by “timothy” is fairly short, but brings up an interesting article regarding a study that was conducted at the University of Utah in which cell phone users have impaired driving skills. This link was also included in the blog and leads to the news article. I notice that whenever I walk on the sidewalk and someone is talking on their cell phone and approaching me, they always run into me, even if I stop and like go in the opposite direction…it bugs me. It’s funny though. Whereas, in the past we would see people talking to themselves on the street and think they were crazy, now we see people talking to themselves (with a hidden phone), and assume they’re fine.
The act of blogging leads me to a question, regarding intellectual property. If a person chooses to blog, and his or her ideas are made open to the public, can they claim it was their intellectual property, if someone else chooses to use his or her idea? And if so, are there any consequences for the person who uses their material in some way? How would one even monitor this…?
Good point Hannah, I hadn’t thought of that. I don’t imagine most blogs are being “peer reviewed” with as much vigour as an academic journal… Although, in a way, I guess they are being peer-reviewed, by the members of the community centred around whatever topic the blog is concerned with. Assuming that each community member is adequately knowledgeable on the literature or “blogature” available on the topic, then blog contributers should, I emphasize should, have the conscience necessary to respect conventional intellectual property stipulations.