That is actually a valid question. What if you did make a discovery of a very large magnitude. Prime Numbers for instance. The first person most would think to contact would probably be the government, who if not stupid would wipe the discovery clean along with the discoverer and keep it to themselves. Same with energy. People in power do not want to have that power deposed.
What you really need to do is take a look at the discovery. Is it something that will benefit mankind. Cheap power might do that, then again it might lead to more gluttonous behavior from humankind. Factoring Primes, would have applications far greater than cracking encryption, and could put our species a few notches ahead in the long run.
So if the discovery is important, and can benefit mankind, bite the bullet and give it away. Find as many methods of distribution as possible without alerting anyone, and distribute it anonymously, simultaneously, everywhere possible. Then trust in mankind's ability to survive what ever upheaval follows.
Otherwise forget it, pat yourself on the back and go on with life.
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That is actually a valid question. What if you did make a discovery of a very large magnitude. Prime Numbers for instance. The first person most would think to contact would probably be the government, who if not stupid would wipe the discovery clean along with the discoverer and keep it to themselves. Same with energy. People in power do not want to have that power deposed.
What you really need to do is take a look at the discovery. Is it something that will benefit mankind. Cheap power might do that, then again it might lead to more gluttonous behavior from humankind. Factoring Primes, would have applications far greater than cracking encryption, and could put our species a few notches ahead in the long run.
So if the discovery is important, and can benefit mankind, bite the bullet and give it away. Find as many methods of distribution as possible without alerting anyone, and distribute it anonymously, simultaneously, everywhere possible. Then trust in mankind's ability to survive what ever upheaval follows.
Otherwise forget it, pat yourself on the back and go on with life.