Tag Archives: pity

Can Monkeys do Business?

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One of the self-portraits taken by the Macaque

One of the self-portraits taken by the Macaque

Some time ago, a wild Macaque monkey snapped a few self-portraits after snatching a human’s camera. The name of the human in question is David Slater who, probably assuming the monkey would have no interest in licensing his work, took it upon himself to sell the rights to a news agency.

The episode sparked an online debate on whether monkeys can actually own copyrights. The debate was also fuelled by a take down request by the news agency claiming ownership of the photos. Clearly though, as anonymous coward’s post explains, monkeys cannot hold copyrights, so there really is no debate and we can all get on with our lives, right?

Well… there is something else really intriguing about this story: As I read through the various posts, comments and arguments, it seemed evident that many people not only think giving copyrights to monkeys is silly, but they go as far as stating that event if they had them, they would not be interested in, or would not know how, to exploit them. Monkeys just can’t do business… right? Hmm, not so sure about that. See, many of us think of doing business as a complex activity which only humans, with our highly developed mental capacity, can understand, let alone perform, but in its simplest form, doing business is nothing more than a basic exercise in cause and effect. Something that any economist understands as well as my 1 year old: “some behaviours cause me gains, while others cause me pains”. The trick, is to learn which are the ‘good’ behaviours and which are the ‘bad’ ones.

This is what we call incentives, powerful learning tools that determine the way we act throughout our lives. Most other business concepts beyond that (e.g., currency, ownership, derivatives, etc…) are just sophisticated tools that we use to manage incentives. The interesting thing about this is that the entire natural world works on the basis of incentives and we are definitely not the only species who experience them consciously, in fact, as the video below shows, we are not even the only species who can use sophisticated instruments like currency for the management of incentives. Just ask yourself: is there really a difference between using printed paper, pieces of metal, seeds or silver tokens to do business?

TEDx Montréal Quartier Latin: Lending an (un)helping hand

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Check out my TEDx talk done in October 2010 in Montréal, QC! I am always closing my eyes in photographs and this could not be the exception.

Jorge Silva argues that when designing assistive devices biomedical engineers should seek to “scratch where it itches.” By adopting alternative business models such as open source systems, users of assistive devices are revolutionizing design and production processes, creating technologies that fit the needs of a larger population.

Approaches to working with Disabled people

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to take advantage of Disabled people to work for Disabled people to work on behalf of Disabled people to work with Disabled people to work one step behind Disabled people
Disabled people… are a market. are ill. suffer illness and/or disorders. are oppressed. are good people. Their bodies work differently.
The problem is a result of… Disabled people not participating in the global market. fate. illness. stigma, unjust social, political and economic structures that disempower people with differences. living in a situation of difference.
The feeling of the helper is one of… delight. superiority. They are less fortunate, less capable, less intelligent. sympathy. solidarity. empathy and friendship, and being in a position to learn a lot.
The way to give help is to… sell products. raise and give money. rehabilitate and cure. tackle the causes of stigma and injustice. respect their way of life and to learn from them.
The practical action of the helper is to… set up a local company to market products. provide funding. To diagnose and to cure. teach people how to prevent and treat disorders. campaign together. To share available resources so that, together, we achieve something better. share the available material and human resources to help them do what they want to do.
Helpers look at people in need from… behind the sales desk. above. in front. their side, we stand together. a little behind them, waiting for them to take the initiative.
As a result of what we do, we expect… to obtain revenues. gratitude. gratitude, an enthusiastic response. to give and receive mutual support. nothing.
Our relationship is… business. benevolent. teacher / pupil. partner. friend, learner, enabler.
Example from the world of disability: Companies sell overpriced rehabilitation devices and assistive technologies. They protect their interests with patents. We provide doctors, medicines and rehabilitation hospitals. We prescribe devices. We meet their basic health needs. We teach people how to be good therapists and caregivers. We teach them how to use their devices effectively. Together we challenge the concept of normal, we campaign against restrictive patents on assistive devices. We work together to learn more about contextual barriers and to develop appropriate technology.

Adapted from Approaches to working with people in need, Anamed.

Approaches to working with people in need

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This table was presented by Anamed at the ECHO Annual Agricultural Conference in November, 2006. There are many ways to engage with people in need, but the know-it-all, pitiful approach of the overdeveloped world often ignores important contextual constraints, disrespects local communities and ultimately recycles the processes of exploitation that maintain people ‘poor’ and ‘needy’. Ultimately, recipients of ‘aid’ are politically constrained to accept what is given to them without criticism. As a result, ‘aid’ organizations grow distant from the communities they claim to support and ignorant of their real needs. So, are you really committed to help, or do you just want to feel good about yourself?

to take advantage of people in need to work for people in need to work on behalf of people in need to work with people in need to work one step behind people in need
People in need are a market. are ill. suffer illness, are under-developed. have been made poor and ill. are good people. They have a different culture.
The problem is a result of people not participating in the global market. fate. under-development. the same unjust political and economic structures that are also causing poverty in our countries. being born into a situation and culture that is different.
The feeling of the helper is one of delight. superiority. They are less fortunate, less well educated, less intelligent. sympathy. solidarity. empathy and friendship, and being in a position to learn a lot.
The way to give help is to sell products. give money. support development. tacke the causes of injustice. respect their way of life and to learn from them.
The practical action of the helper is to set up a local company to market products. provide (to feed or to heal). teach people how to be teachers, doctors, engineers. campaign together. To share available resources so that, together, we achieve something better. share the available material and human resources to help them do what they want to do.
Helpers look at people in need from behind the sales desk. above. in front. their side, we stand together. a little behind them, waiting for them to take the initiative.
As a result of what we do, we expect to take money. gratitude. gratitude, an enthusiastic response. to give and receive mutual support. nothing.
Our relationship is business. benevolent. teacher / pupil. partner. friend, learner, enabler.
Example from the world of health: Companies sell toxic mercury soaps, cigarrettes, breast milk substitutes, vitamin pills, etc. We provide doctors, medicines and hospitals. We meet their basic health needs. We teach people how to be good nurses and doctors. Together we challenge the rules of the WTO, we campaign against patents on plants. We work together to learn more about medicinal plants and natural medicine.

Taken from Anamed. See also Approaches to working with Disabled people.