

The unlawful imprisonment of my mind - jeswin
https://medium.com/i-m-h-o/399c21224f8b

======
nkurz
A different sort of patent than what she is referring to, but I was somewhat
aghast to wander across this patent today:
[http://www.google.com/patents/US8140608](http://www.google.com/patents/US8140608)

Title: "Pipelined integer division using floating-point reciprocal"

Now, I know, you aren't supposed to judge a patent by it's title. Maybe
they've really come up with something novel and non-obvious to a 'person
skilled in the art'.

Let's check. ABSTRACT:

    
    
      One embodiment of the present invention sets forth a    
      technique for performing fast integer division using 
      commonly available arithmetic operations. The technique 
      may be implemented in a two-stage process using a single-
      precision floating point reciprocal in conjunction with 
      integer addition and multiplication. Furthermore, the 
      technique may be fully pipelined on many conventional 
      processors for performance that is comparable to the best 
      available high-performance alternatives.
    

Hmm, that sounds pretty obvious. It also sounds a lot like fairly basic
arithmetic. But it's the claims that matter, not the abstract.

Here's claim 1 in its entirety:

    
    
      1. A method for performing integer division, the method comprising:
      receiving an integer dividend and an integer divisor;
      computing, via one or more processors, a first partial   
      quotient using a set of significant bits from the dividend;
      computing a first partial remainder;
      adjusting the first partial quotient to generate an adjusted first partial quotient;
      computing a second partial quotient based on the first partial remainder;
      computing a second partial remainder;
      adjusting the second partial quotient to generate an   adjusted second partial quotient; and
      computing a quotient by adding the adjusted first partial quotient to the adjusted second partial quotient.
    

Hmm, that sounds a lot like they've just patented some fairly basic math. Who
are these patent trolls?

    
    
      Owner name: NVIDIA CORPORATION, CALIFORNIA 
    

Oh. Well, I hope at least they make good use of their temporary monopoly for
the progress of science and the arts.

------
userulluipeste
"Occupy and others, you were right. And I was wrong. It was the protesters who
were more sophisticated, knowledgeable and aware than I was."

No, they weren't! After dismissing them first, the author comes around and
ends up giving the protesters too much credit in my view. I read the
protesters' arguments exposed back then and I couldn't make much sense out of
those. Yes, things may be wrong as they are and some change is perceived as
necessary to avoid the collapse of social order, and for that I also agree
that a critical mass of people is needed, which means that the change
proponents are in need for as much adherents as they can get, but to crown
fools is dangerous.

~~~
jeswin
Up-voting you. But I'm not sure if we give them enough credit. It is hard to
work against the system; insanely hard to do something on this scale.

I feel their simple arguments suffice to show how unfair the current system
is. And at that/this point, it wasn't even necessary to propose solutions.
Step one is to tell the world that there is something wrong. In recent memory,
they have been one of the most prominently heard voices and that's a success.

~~~
userulluipeste
Thanks for up-vote, although I expected down-votes for going against what I
presumed to be the feeling of the dominant audience. I don't argue that the
system is unfair, I just have my fears that in order to get results some very
bad mistakes could be committed. In the communist doctrine, in order to get
mass support, some populist policies were adopted, like giving free credit to
simple people, and (as a consequence) putting them forward, no matter if they
were competent or not. So my fear comes from a reality that me along with two
older generations had to experience. It's a experience that Americans lack and
that obviously makes them prone to repeat bad history. When complimenting
someone in political matters, think that your praise may have consequences as
it can serve as basis for power claim. When it's about power, the receiving
subjects should be (in my book) very, very deserving. Sorry for stretching the
limited discussed context to something more.

