In its simplest form the many minds principle states:
The best thing to do with your data will be thought of by someone else
The slightly extended version states:
The best thing to do with your data will be thought of by someone else - and you’ll think of the best thing to do with someone else’s data
It articulates the idea that one of the major benefits of open information and open data is that it reduces friction in the flow of information, allowing it to travel quickly and easily to where it will be most beneficially used.
An alternative version that more directly references the free/open source software roots:
To many eyes, all anomalies are obvious
Or
To many eyes, all insights are apparent
This principle owes a major debt of inspiration to the free/open source software movement in general, and, in particular Eric Raymond’s well-known aphorism about the benefits of free/open source software:
To many eyes, all bugs are shallow
Named “Linus’ Law” in honour of Linus Torvalds, this phrasing first appeared in the Cathedral and the Bazaar (1999).