On the hermetic nature of Chemistry
Chemistry is a strange science. Maybe because it sprouted from the mystical Alchemy, Chemistry remains somehow arcane. Unlike other major disciplines, chemical knowledge is often somehow secret, hidden or so esoteric it resembles sheer non-sense, even to highly educated individuals.
Chemistry is a powerful science, and, were all its databases publicly available, the balance of power would drastically shift. In some cases, I believe small communities would be able to manufacture their own medicines, fertilizers, pesticides, and food additives; Amateur or unemployed chemists have little to no chance to apply their knowledge for scientific innovation. They are stuck with teaching or experimenting/repeating well documented known processes.
I propose an effort for the liberation of chemical and pharmaceutical databases, software, books and papers. The study of matter and the transformations it undergoes is a discipline too fundamental to be guarded behind the closed doors of academia and multi national corporations.