--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The unlimited replication of information…" description: "\"The unlimited replication of information is generally a public good.\" — George Dyson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d2/george-dyson-25639_generally_the-unlimited-replication-of-information_1249708.jpg" --- # The unlimited replication of information is generally a… ![“The unlimited replication of information is generally a public good.” quote by George Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d2/george-dyson-25639_generally_the-unlimited-replication-of-information_1249708.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d2/george-dyson-25639_generally_the-unlimited-replication-of-information_1249708.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d2/george-dyson-25639_generally_the-unlimited-replication-of-information_1249708.jpg) > “The unlimited replication of information is generally a public good.” [George Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-dyson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Information that can be copied endlessly benefits society by spreading knowledge and innovation. **In simple terms:** Unlimited copying is a public good. Key Takeaway Promote open access to data. Themes knowledge public good technology Mood optimistic analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - education - software development - research publishing - digital archiving Key Concepts information theory commons network effects Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance openness with accuracy? - What safeguards protect public knowledge? A Different Perspective If quality control is ignored, misinformation can spread. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Generally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generally/) [Generally Public](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generally-public-3704190/) [Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good/) [Information](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/information/) [Information Generally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/information-generally-3934103/) [Public](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public/) [Public good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-good/) [Replication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/replication/) [Unlimited](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unlimited/) [Unlimited Replication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unlimited-replication-3934104/) ## Related quotes > [What we call public opinion is generally public sentiment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/what-we-call-public-opinion-is-generally-public-sentiment/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [When you click on a link, you are replicating the string of code that it links to. Replication of code sequences isn't life, any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-dyson/when-you-click-on-a-link-you-are-replicating-the-string-of-code-that/) [George Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-dyson/) > [To move from a discussion of the early relationship between theatre and television to an examination of the current situation of live performance is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-auslander/to-move-from-a-discussion-of-the-early-relationship-between-theatre/) [Philip Auslander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-auslander/) > [... while in theory digital technology entails the flawless replication of data, its actual use in contemporary society is characterized by the loss of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-manovich/while-in-theory-digital-technology-entails-the-flawless-replication/) [Lev Manovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-manovich/) > [A meme (rhymes with dream) is a unit of information (a catchphrase, a concept, a tune, a notion of fashion, philosophy or politics) that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kalle-lasn/a-meme-rhymes-with-dream-is-a-unit-of-information-a-catchphrase-a/) [Kalle Lasn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kalle-lasn/) > [“Facts and values are entangled in science. It's not because scientists are biased, not because they are partial or influenced by other kinds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alva-noe/facts-and-values-are-entangled-in-science-it-s-not-because-scientists/) [Alva Noë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alva-noe/) > [“But more than anything, they worried that since everyone was using different media ingredients, recipes, cells, and techniques, and few knew their peers’ methods,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-skloot/but-more-than-anything-they-worried-that-since-everyone-was-using/) [Rebecca Skloot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-skloot/) > [There is an instinct for realism, a powerful drive to reproduce oneself. 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Begin lifting the weights of creativity, originality, and success.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-lilly/get-off-the-treadmill-of-consumption-replication-and-mediocrity-begin/) [Ryan Lilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-lilly/) > [We can come up with a working definition of life, which is what we did for the Viking mission to Mars. We said we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-ponnamperuma/we-can-come-up-with-a-working-definition-of-life-which-is-what-we-did/) [Cyril Ponnamperuma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-ponnamperuma/) > [“Beauty is the replication and duplication of mind’s delusion. It is not uniqueness or exceptionality; it is the mentality of belonging and fitting in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/beauty-is-the-replication-and-duplication-of-mind-s-delusion-it-is/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [“And anyway, as they will say in the distant future, “Replication is the sincerest form of flattery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-takei/and-anyway-as-they-will-say-in-the-distant-future-replication-is-the/) [George Takei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-takei/) > [Because of the irresistible nature of our own Imagos, I think the replication of it in music is a siren song - we love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-febos/because-of-the-irresistible-nature-of-our-own-imagos-i-think-the/) [Melissa Febos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-febos/) ## More by George Dyson > [“Are we using digital computers to sequence, store, and better replicate our own genetic code, thereby optimizing human beings, or are digital computers optimizing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-dyson/are-we-using-digital-computers-to-sequence-store-and-better-replicate/) [George Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-dyson/) > [It doesn't cost anything to replicate code. So the companies that make code, that's why they've done so well. We take it for granted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-dyson/it-doesn-t-cost-anything-to-replicate-code-so-the-companies-that-make/) [George Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-dyson/) > [I don't know a single person who is not immersed in the digital universe. Even people who are strongly anti-technology are probably voicing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-dyson/i-don-t-know-a-single-person-who-is-not-immersed-in-the-digital/) [George Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-dyson/) > [If you spend time alone in the wilderness, you get very attuned to living things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-dyson/if-you-spend-time-alone-in-the-wilderness-you-get-very-attuned-to/) [George Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-dyson/) > [“There is reason to suspect that our predilection for linear codes, which have a simple, almost temporal sequence, is chiefly a literary habit, corresponding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-dyson/there-is-reason-to-suspect-that-our-predilection-for-linear-codes/) [George Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-dyson/) > [We could construct a machine that is more intelligent than we can understand. It's possible Google is that kind of thing already. 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Digital codes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-dyson/digital-organisms-while-not-necessarily-any-more-alive-than-a-phone/) [George Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-dyson/) > [I have had a Twitter account since the very beginning but have never used it: I haven't tweeted anything, and I haven't followed anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-dyson/i-have-had-a-twitter-account-since-the-very-beginning-but-have-never/) [George Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-dyson/) > [History is one of the only fields where contributions by amateurs are taken seriously, providing you follow the rules and document your sources. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-dyson/history-is-one-of-the-only-fields-where-contributions-by-amateurs-are/) [George Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-dyson/) > [“The obsidian flake and the silicon chip are struck by the light of the same campfire that has passed from hand to hand since…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-dyson/the-obsidian-flake-and-the-silicon-chip-are-struck-by-the-light-of/) [George Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-dyson/) > [“Web 2.0 is our code word for the analog increasingly supervening upon the digital—reversing how digital logic was embedded in analog components, sixty years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-dyson/web-2-0-is-our-code-word-for-the-analog-increasingly-supervening-upon/) [George Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-dyson/) > [I read the Drudge Report! And wander around Facebook sometimes!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-dyson/i-read-the-drudge-report-and-wander-around-facebook-sometimes/) [George Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-dyson/) > [“VON NEUMANN MADE a deal with “the other party” in 1946. The scientists would get the computers, and the military would get the bombs.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-dyson/von-neumann-made-a-deal-with-the-other-party-in-1946-the-scientists/) [George Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-dyson/) [Explore all 22 George Dyson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-dyson/) ## More Generally quotes > [I think I am against stereotype. Generally, Asian guys are more quiet - they study and have a good work ethic. Generally, I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-lee/i-think-i-am-against-stereotype-generally-asian-guys-are-more-quiet/) [Bobby Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-lee/) > [Generally, I like all islands. There, it is easier to rule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/generally-i-like-all-islands-there-it-is-easier-to-rule/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [My wife and kids maybe beg to differ, but I am generally a good guy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-macchio/my-wife-and-kids-maybe-beg-to-differ-but-i-am-generally-a-good-guy/) [Ralph Macchio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-macchio/) > [I'm generally pretty happy about life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-smith/i-m-generally-pretty-happy-about-life/) [Phyllis Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-smith/) > [The first act is the easiest to plot. The second act is always the hardest to plot. Generally a good, you know, sometimes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-j-cannell/the-first-act-is-the-easiest-to-plot-the-second-act-is-always-the/) [Stephen J. Cannell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-j-cannell/) > [Knowledge is generally considered a good thing; so, presumably, knowing more about how the U.S. thinks and operates around the world is also good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/knowledge-is-generally-considered-a-good-thing-so-presumably-knowing/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [I'm in production year round. I work long hours. I have a dog and a wife. There's not a lot of available time for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-glass/i-m-in-production-year-round-i-work-long-hours-i-have-a-dog-and-a/) [Ira Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-glass/) > [I'm pretty indiscriminating, and I have awful taste, generally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nellie-mckay/i-m-pretty-indiscriminating-and-i-have-awful-taste-generally/) [Nellie McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nellie-mckay/) > [But it is impossible to divide a cube into two cubes, or a fourth power into fourth powers, or generally any power beyond the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-de-fermat/but-it-is-impossible-to-divide-a-cube-into-two-cubes-or-a-fourth/) [Pierre de Fermat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-de-fermat/) > [For those of us in the political business, generally, it's been pretty much an unwritten but understood rule that family and children are out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-nutter/for-those-of-us-in-the-political-business-generally-it-s-been-pretty/) [Michael Nutter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-nutter/) > [And so, as generally happens, those who have most give least, and those with less somehow make shrift to share.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/and-so-as-generally-happens-those-who-have-most-give-least-and-those/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [As a children's author, reviewers are generally very nice to you. 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