Computers, Science,and the MicrosoftCase BarryFagin Department of Computer Science US Air ForceAcademy email.'sGgin@rmi.net the past three years, the Department of Justice has been involved in antitrust litigation against Microsoft, the world s largest software company. Because Microsoft's founder is the world's richest man, and because Microsoft has achieved an unprecedented role in shaping the computer industry, this case has captured the attention of the popular press and mass media. In previous work (Fagin 1997), I have made the argument that politics as practiced today is rife with irrationality, and that scientists should become more politically active because irrationality in politics is harmful. I believe the Microsoft trial is a case in point. Computer scientists in particular should exert what pressure they can to call for the dismissal of this case. It is an affront to rational thinking. For Axioms of Economics Rational inquiry into the physical world requires self-evident axioms. For scientific study, these axioms include notions of regularity (observed physical constants, properties, and laws do not change with time) and objectivity (there is a world outside of us that we perceive but do not create). The fact that they are regarded as self-evident, however, does not mean
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Computers, science, and the microsoft case
Fagin, Barry
Follow ACM SIGCAS Computers and Society
, Volume 29 (2)
Association for Computing Machinery – Jun 1, 1999
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