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Rodney Mullen on creating #free software #skateboard

A little rambling, but interesting, TED talk by freestyle skating legend Rodney Mullen, with an unexpected comparison of skaters creating tricks and free software/open source programmers creating software.

The parallel of a skater creating a trick, sharing it with fellow skaters, who then take it, modify it, make it into something else, perhaps something better, and invariably sharing it back, is a quite clear one.

There is also a parallel in the way that skateboarding isn't strictly organized - you go skate with your friends when and if you feel like it, and you do it because it is fun.

Finally there is the sense of respect coming from what you do, not who you happen to be, or where you happen to be from, or what you happen to possess - the more you contribute, the higher regarded you usually are.