David Espinosa wrote in part:
We seem to be more excited about patents than categories! I guess opinions are cheaper than theorems...
Of course; it's a matter of convenience, not excitement.
I'd say that citation is the academic form of currency. Here's a dictionary:
Academia: Academics get quite upset if you use their ideas without citing them. Industry: Companies sue you if you use their patents without paying them.
Academia: You can publish improvements to someone's basic idea. Industry: You can patent improvements to someone's basic idea.
Here's what you missed: Academia: Academics can freely use ideas if they cite them, and nobody minds if they come up with idea independently. Industry: Companies must pay to use patented ideas, even if they come up with the idea indpendently, at whatever rate (possibly prohibitive) set by the owner of the patent. --Toby [For admin and other information see: http://www.mta.ca/~cat-dist/ ]