Open’ is the opposite of ‘closed’. Openness has different degrees, from ‘ajar’ to ‘wide open’, and it applies to very different things, from closets to archives, from consultation to access, from politics to science.
In Galileo’s view, nature is an open book in front of our eyes that can be studied by anyone who has the right intellectual tools.
In the age of Galileo, scientists went to great lengths to disseminate scientific results. But they also used riddles and anagrams to prove publicly, for future reference, that they were the sole owners of a discovery they did not want or could not yet publish. Even the practical applications of science could be a source of controversy: Galileo produced and sold an ingenious measuring instrument and sued an imitator to maintain exclusivity.
Since then, the nature of scientific research has changed:
- It has become very complex, both technically and socially;
- The system of scientific publishing has become an international economic sector in its own right.
Nature is still open, but the tools of science and the communication of results have become part of closed system.
The answer to this closure is openness as a program and a motto. It refers first of all to access to cultural works and scientific materials (publications, methods, data), then to science itself. It affects the publication models and dissemination practices of science and qualifies its social and democratic function.
In this usage, “open” means first and foremost “free”, not only from costs (“free”), but also from obstacles due to various reasons of secrecy (political, economic, competitive), administrative evaluation obligations or material difficulties. Open licenses promote the free circulation of knowledge. The principles of Open Access consist in the free consultation and reproduction of scientific publications and results (while respecting the moral rights of authors).
Moreover, “open” means not only “free” but also “accessible” and “transparent” (as in the case of open peer review). Openness, free circulation, accessibility and transparency are the hallmarks of open science.
Transl. by Maria Chiara Pievatolo
This text is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 license
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