When I finished reading “Science’s Pirate Queen” my one thought was. I think the reason why giant publications are so threatened by “Sci Hub” is not the fact that they are stealing, but the fact that they showed paid publication that they have nothing to offer. Let me explain right now I could theoretically download any movie I wanted through piracy, but I still rather use Netflix, and it is not because I could get caught stealing, but because Netflix aside from the content, it also has something else to offer, commodity. To download something for free I will have to install a VPN, lookRead More →

Imagine sitting at your dinner table with your family, you are talking about paying your bills which has been the one constant subject in my life, and then the phrase “I read a very interesting piece the other day from the university of California” gets said. While this sort of conversation can theoretically happen in one family imagine all UCSD families saying this simple phrase, but how could they, the information is closed off to the student who goes to the academy as if an eighteen year old with no work experience is more deserving than a forty year old farmer, and even if bothRead More →

While both of the readings were interesting I gravitated most towards the manifesto because it offered ideas on how to fix or move forward as oppose of the pedagogy which only highlighted the problem. The manifesto also echoed some of my same beliefs, like universities needing to be open to the general public since they are supposed to be the centers of knowledge. Even students attending the university are presented with an expected gratitude that academic journals are free for the students, but in 2018 free information is to be expected. In this day and age information is not a luxury, but an expected commodity.Read More →

To be frank, I have never met a single person who had never pirated anything, and when you talk to them they will admit it point blank, but professionally we have never done it or even come close with it, because to admit it will be to admit you commited a crime, and we all read those FBI messages before our DVD started. Piracy has been angrily criticized, and with just cause, but what if stealing had its merits. Imagine you live on an island cut off from the outside world, an island where information is filtered, censored, or down right blocked. That is theRead More →