What if there was a library which held every book? Not every book on sale, or every important book, or even every book in English, but simply every book - a key part of our planet's cultural legacy.
Aaron SwartzRead
Information is power. But like all power, there are those who want to keep it for themselves.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Knowledge can give individuals great influence, but it is often controlled by those in power.
This quote highlights the concept that information is a powerful tool that can be used to influence, control, and empower individuals. However, it also emphasizes the tendency of those who hold power to restrict access to information, thus maintaining their dominance and preventing equal opportunities for others to gain knowledge and leverage it.
Themes
InformationPowerKnowledgeControlInfluence
In practice
Example use cases
During a seminar on digital rights, one might quote this to emphasize the importance of open access to information.
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But like all power, there are those who want to keep it for themselves. The world's entire scientific and cultural heritage, published over centuries in books and journals, is increasingly being digitized and locked up by a handful of private corporations. Want to read the papers featuring the most famous results of the sciences? You'll need to send enormous amounts to publishers like Reed Elsevier.
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