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> We do not own the same copy of that book Why not? If you hash the book, it’ll match. It’s word for word the same book (editions not withstanding). It’s not t
by pixelatedindex 6d ago
> We do not own the same copy of that book
Why not? If you hash the book, it’ll match. It’s word for word the same book (editions not withstanding). It’s not the same if you tie in account permissions, of course. Or is this on a philosophical level?
Edit: the downvotes make no sense, aren’t we talking about digital copies here?
- inknight 6d agogames are actual physical bits stored somewhere.
- pixelatedindex 6d agoI’m not denying that? What is the argument here?
- ratelimitsteve 6d agothat even if they form the same pattern, one pile of bits on one storage medium and another pile of bits on a different storage medium are two separate things and it's possible for one person to own one of the piles and another person to own the other one.
- deleted 6d ago[deleted]
- shevy-java 6d agoIt is a distinct physical object. Whether anyone stored digital information about it in a bit-wise manner, does not change that fact of a physical object being unique. The same book can not co-exist at the very same place and location and time in this universe. That makes no sense.
- pixelatedindex 6d agoI thought we were talking about digital copies.
- ratelimitsteve 6d agowe may have been. the idea that two copies of the same thing are not the same object still applies. you can tell because if you own a PDF and I own a copy of that PDF, and I destroy mine, you still have yours.
- OroPla 6d agoPhysical objects do not exist in a digital format. When I type the letter "a" is it not the exact same letter that you are using in your text? Even all the "a"s in this comment are identical, are they not? In the physical world, no two letters "a" are exactly the same, not even printed ones. Or do you suggest that all those letters "a" here are completely distinct from each other? I don't think ownership works conceptually for digital stuff. There's no owning a letter "a" and there are no two letters "a" that are distinct from each other, unless you count the Cyrillic "а" which is completely different from "a". Each of these letters "a" might be a different instance, but they are the same letter: "a". Similarly, two copies of a file are still the same exact copy. Just different instances of it.
- ssl-3 6d agoYour comment is unique. Nobody before you has ever written a comment phrased exactly like that. I saved a copy of your unique comment on my pocket supercomputer, including the letter "a". I didn't ask first; I just did it. It's fine because it doesn't really exist. Now it's my comment.
- ratelimitsteve 5d agoexactly. delete all of the "a"s from your comment. what happens to theirs? nothing. because they're not the same thing.
- rcxdude 6d agoIt's about how copyright law was originally conceived. It did not particularly care about what you did with the information, apart from when you copied it. Copyright is only about the right to make more copies of a work (hence the name!), it doesn't give you any particular rights on its own to what anyone does with any given copy of a work, such as reselling it. This has changed more recently with (first with software) the concept of buying a license to a work as the primary means of purchasing it, which is far more restrictive.
- saghm 6d agoBecause property law is not defined in terms of hashes. Why would you expect that property law operates on a mathematical construct that was discovered centuries after it?
- voidUpdate 6d agoIf I buy a game, and my friend buys a game, we can both own a copy of the game, without owning the same copy. My disc of Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 is not the same as my friend's disc of Rollercoaster Tycoon 2
- rpdillon 6d agoTwo copies means two copies. I have a copy, my house burns down, your copy is fine. Hashes have nothing to do with it.
- benj111 6d agoIf I buy a Billy book case from IKEA, is it not the same as your Billy book case? Hashing said book case is left as an exercise for the reader.
- stetrain 6d agoI can sell my copy of the book to a third person without interfering with your copy. And I can do so without the involvement or permission of the publisher or book store.
- totallymike 6d agoThis is a bad faith argument and the commenter knows it