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The importance of free software to science
Free software plays a critical role in science, both in research and in disseminating it. Aspects of software freedom are directly relevant to simulation, analysis, document preparation and preservation, security, reproducibility, and usability. Free software brings practical and specific advantages, beyond just its ideological roots, to science, while proprietary software comes with equally specific risks. As a practicing scientist, I would like to help others—scientists or not—see the benefits from free software in science.
Although there is an implicit philosophical stance here—that reproducibility and openness in science are desirable, for instance—it is simply a fact that a working scientist will use the best tools for the job, even if those might not strictly conform to the laudable goals of the free-software movement. It turns out that free software, by virtue of its freedom, is often the best tool for the job.