Airplanes were invented by hobbyists and experimenters, and some personal computers were as well. Similarly, many open-source software developers are interested in the software they make, and not focused on profit. Based on these cases, this paper has a model of agents called tinkerers who want...

The process of developing a new technology through open discussion has been called collective invention. This paper documents two episodes of collective invention and proposes a general model based on search theory. The first episode deals with the development of mass production steel in the...