James Gleick has written a really interesting article on the shrinking namespace of the modern world (thanks to Chris Taylor / Synthetic Morpheme for the link) Get Out of My Namespace. The more I think about copyrights, the more bizarre and elusive they become to me. The whole point of having a name is that it can be copied. It can be spoken, written down, printed on a sign, typed into a computer, etc. Some folks want tighter control over their names. A favorite example Prince changing his name to that unpronouncable symbol. This example illustrated (with obnoxious precision) that a name is not simply a possession of the individual, but a means by which the rest of society can refer to someone/something. A name is for the express purpose of being repeated and copied in order to make reference to a person. It is a place-holder. Like the variable 'x'. Wouldn't it be just rediculous if the letter 'x' could only ever be used to refer to one particular variable, say, the distance between my house and Britney Spears. With all the efforts to control names, I think it's only a matter of time before some jackass (maybe me) changes their name to an unclonable quantum state. It can never be copied, or even measured with much precision. It can only be transfered through reversible quantum operations. It could only be infringed upon if it were directly, physically stolen. I am aware that these comments are a bit ad absurdum, but that is the only environment I've ever known. My prayer for humanity is that the concept of "copyright" will one day evolve itself right out of existence.