Capitalism

When I walked out that door, I realised that I was carrying in my head a lot of intellectual capital. The ethical question was how much of it belonged to the institution and how much I ought to give back. My conclusion, arrived at after a fairly long period of self-inquisition, was that the answer was probably none. Why so? Was I being ungrateful?

The answer to that is simple. I specifically asked if the training, skills and ideas would go to waste, and the answer given to me was that I should use the training elsewhere, use the skills to get a better position elsewhere, and that the ideas had already been paid for and used up. I did not fully realise the magnanimity folded into that answer until I saw that it was a blanket absolution covering any notion of indebtedness.

It has dawned on me that I can now make my ideas public domain. I can even make my internal commentaries public domain. I signed nothing to the contrary, and have indeed been asked to go out and perhaps publish a book "since I am good at writing". All this amounts to valuable advice. I must now prepare to use that advice well.