COMMONS.TXT by Paul Edwards ============================================================================= THE FAILURE OF HUMANITY AND WHERE AN INDIVIDUAL CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE BY ENDING POINTLESS COMPETITION ============================================================================= THE PROBLEM ----------- In many domains of human knowledge, the same material is produced thousands of times by competing individuals and organisations, each copyrighting their version, each charging for access, each consuming human effort - when a single good public domain version would serve humanity equally well. This is not competition that produces innovation. It is fragmentation that produces waste. The underlying knowledge is already public. The creative variation adds no meaningful value. One good version, owned by nobody, available to everyone, would end the waste permanently. This document calls this failure mode "fragmented pointless competition" and the solution "Commons Purchase." THE CONCRETE EXAMPLE -------------------- Baby visual stimulation images. Newborns have limited vision and benefit from high contrast black and white images. The science is public. The patterns that work are known. Yet millions of competing products exist, all copyrighted, all charging for access. One individual in Ligao, Philippines commissioned a Vietnamese artist to produce a complete set of images covering the full developmental range, paid for the work personally, and released the result to the public domain. Cost: a few hundred dollars. Result: the fragmented market is theoretically ended. The images are available at: https://asianshelpingasians.org Any government on earth, including the poorest, could have done this. Any philanthropist could have done this. Any corporation with a charitable giving budget could have done this. None of them did. One individual did. This is the failure this document addresses. WHY INSTITUTIONS FAIL TO ACT ----------------------------- The failure is not economic. The cost is trivial for any institution. The failure is attentional and structural. Institutions optimise for legibility and credit. The Commons Purchase move is invisible before it is done and uncreditworthy after. Once the public domain version exists, nobody remembers or rewards whoever created it. The fragmented market quietly stops being a problem. There is no ribbon cutting, no press release that lands, no constituency that lobbies for it, no metric that captures it. Institutions respond to visible problems with attributable solutions. The fragmented commons is neither visible as a problem nor attributable as a solution. It sits in the gap between what institutions can see and what they can take credit for. The philanthropist needs a problem visible enough to justify the overhead of addressing it. The government needs a constituency. The corporation needs measurable impact for its report. None of those requirements point toward Commons Purchase. The result is that gaps which could be closed for hundreds of dollars remain open for decades, consuming millions of dollars of collective human effort, while vastly better-resourced actors look elsewhere. THE COMMONS PURCHASE CONCEPT ----------------------------- Any actor - government, philanthropist, corporation, or individual - can identify a fragmented commons gap and close it permanently by: 1. Identifying a domain where fragmented pointless competition exists. 2. Commissioning one good version of the material at modest cost. 3. Releasing the result explicitly to the public domain. 4. Publishing what has been done so others know the gap is closed. The criteria for a valid target: - The underlying knowledge is already public. - Creative variation between competing versions adds no meaningful value. - Competition produces no innovation, only fragmentation. - One good version would serve humanity as well as a thousand competing ones. - The cost of commissioning is trivial relative to the collective waste. OPEN GAPS - WHERE ACTION IS NEEDED ------------------------------------ The following domains have been identified as valid targets for Commons Purchase. Each entry identifies the gap, who should be commissioned to produce the material, and the expected cost range. 1. INFANT AND CHILD VISUAL STIMULATION IMAGES Status: CLOSED Where: https://asianshelpingasians.org Notes: Complete developmental range commissioned from Vietnamese artist and released to public domain. This gap no longer needs to be filled. Use and distribute freely. 2. BASIC MEDICAL AND ANATOMICAL DIAGRAMS Gap: Medical illustration is fragmented across textbook publishers who charge enormous sums. Clinics in poor countries, medical students, first aid trainers, and community health workers worldwide need accurate anatomical diagrams, wound care guides, and basic procedural illustrations but cannot afford commercial versions. Who to commission: A qualified medical illustrator. Ideally one with formal medical illustration training or a background in anatomy. Universities with medical illustration programmes are a source. The content should be reviewed by a medical professional for accuracy before release. What is needed: Core anatomical diagrams (skeletal, muscular, organ systems), basic wound assessment and care, universal first aid procedures, common disease presentation guides for community health workers. Expected cost: $1,000 - $5,000 for a comprehensive set depending on the illustrator and scope. Beneficiaries: Every medical school, clinic, and community health programme on earth, permanently. 3. BASIC LITERACY AND NUMERACY MATERIALS Gap: Alphabet charts, phonics guides, number recognition cards, and basic reading primers exist in thousands of competing copyrighted versions. Many are culturally inappropriate for non-Western contexts. Children in poor countries often have access to none of them, or to versions that do not reflect their cultural context. Who to commission: A qualified educator with experience in early childhood literacy, working with a local illustrator to ensure cultural appropriateness. Primary school teachers with curriculum development experience are suitable. The material should be reviewed by an early childhood education specialist. What is needed: Alphabet and phonics materials for major world languages, number recognition and basic arithmetic visual guides, basic reading primers with culturally appropriate illustrations. Expected cost: $500 - $3,000 per language depending on scope. Beneficiaries: Every child learning to read in every country, permanently. 4. CHILD DEVELOPMENT MILESTONE CHARTS Gap: Charts showing normal developmental milestones - motor skills, language, social development - at each age from birth to five years exist in competing copyrighted versions produced by medical associations and publishers. Parents and community health workers in poor countries often have no access to them. Who to commission: A paediatrician or child development specialist to define the content, and a medical illustrator or graphic designer to produce the visual material. Local health workers should review for cultural appropriateness. What is needed: Visual milestone charts from birth to five years covering motor, language, cognitive, and social development. Warning signs for developmental delay. Available in major world languages. Expected cost: $500 - $2,000 for a comprehensive set. Beneficiaries: Every parent and community health worker on earth, permanently. 5. NUTRITIONAL GUIDANCE VISUALS Gap: Visual guides showing what a balanced meal looks like, portion sizes, food safety, and infant feeding guidance exist in competing copyrighted versions that are often culturally inappropriate because they are produced in wealthy Western countries and reflect Western food availability. Who to commission: A nutritionist or dietitian to define the content, and a local illustrator to produce culturally appropriate visuals for each target region. Different versions are needed for different regions reflecting local food availability. What is needed: Balanced meal visual guides, infant and child feeding guidance, food safety basics, culturally appropriate versions for major world regions. Expected cost: $500 - $2,000 per regional version. Beneficiaries: Every parent, community health worker, and school feeding programme on earth, permanently. 6. BASIC AGRICULTURAL GUIDANCE FOR SUBSISTENCE FARMERS Gap: Guides covering planting schedules, pest identification, soil management, water conservation, and basic crop storage exist in fragmented versions across NGOs, governments, and agricultural extension services. They are rarely available in local languages and rarely reflect local conditions. Who to commission: An agronomist or agricultural extension worker with knowledge of the target region, working with a local illustrator. Content should be practical and visual rather than text-heavy, usable by people with limited literacy. What is needed: Seasonal planting guides, common pest and disease identification, basic soil improvement techniques, water conservation, crop storage to reduce post-harvest losses. Regional versions reflecting local crops and conditions. Expected cost: $500 - $3,000 per regional version. Beneficiaries: Subsistence farmers in every developing country, permanently. 7. BASIC FIRST AID VISUAL GUIDES Gap: First aid guides exist in competing copyrighted versions. The underlying knowledge - how to treat a wound, recognise a stroke, perform CPR, manage a choking emergency - is entirely public and does not vary meaningfully between versions. One good illustrated guide in every major language would serve as well as a thousand competing ones. Who to commission: A first aid instructor or emergency medicine professional to define and verify the content, and a medical illustrator to produce clear visual instructions. Content must be reviewed for medical accuracy before release. What is needed: Core emergency first aid procedures in clear visual format - CPR, choking, bleeding, burns, fractures, stroke recognition, anaphylaxis. Available in major world languages. Expected cost: $500 - $2,000 for a comprehensive set. Beneficiaries: Anyone who might need to administer first aid anywhere on earth, permanently. HOW TO ACT ---------- If you wish to close one of these gaps, or a gap you have identified yourself: 1. Verify the gap is still open. Search for existing public domain versions before commissioning new work. Update this document if you find the gap has been closed. 2. Commission the work. Find a qualified professional in the relevant field. Agree on scope, accuracy standards, and the explicit condition that the work will be released to the public domain. Pay fairly. 3. Release to the public domain explicitly. Use a CC0 dedication or an equivalent explicit public domain release. "Free to use" is not sufficient. The release must be unambiguous and permanent. 4. Publish what you have done. Make the material available online. Document what was produced, who produced it, and that it is public domain. Tell others the gap is closed so effort is not duplicated. 5. Update this document. Add the gap to the closed list with a URL. This document should become a living record of what has been done and what remains to be done. THE CALL -------- You do not need to be a government, a foundation, or a corporation. You need to notice the gap, understand that one good version ends the waste, and have a modest amount of money and the will to spend it. The resources required are trivially small. The barrier is attention. Run the search. Find the gap. Close it. Tell others. ============================================================================= Paul Edwards Ligao, Philippines 2026 =============================================================================