Why the linux idea of open source is "Correct"

Open source is a term that we have all heard. Open source simply means that the complete code of a program is available to anyone and can be modified in any way pleased. Why is this correct? Very simple. Have you you ever played the game of "Secret"; A game were a secret is whispered from person to person and the secret has to come back the same way it was originally to the person who started it. Well, what if we played the same game, only by the time the secret comes back around, it has to be improved? For instance "I like Tom", comes back as "I really like Tom, I think he's cute". The same can be applied to Open Source. Once a piece of software gets passed and worked on for many years, the software generally improves naturally. Everyone has their own improvements in the creation of the software.

Follow up:

A good example of this happening is Wikipedia (I know it controversial, but its a good example). Wikipedia works on very much the same concept as Open Source. An article is written starting off with mistakes and misleading information. As the article gets edited over and over again, facts clear up and the general information evolves. The same we see in open source.

But imagine this. Sally may have said "I like Tom", but Erica does not like Tom, she likes John. If Erica passes on the secret to the next person, it has the potential to change to "I like John". Though maybe not passed on, The same can be applied to what happens in Open Source. It is not uncommon for a company to take a piece of Open Source software and change it to their own needs. If that software had to be made from scratch it would have costed the company endless amount of money and time.

What about if you have two secrets? For instance Sally gets "Eric is cute" and "Sarah is thinking about Eric" at the same time. Wouldn't that have the potential to become "Sarah is thinking about Eric because Eric is cute"? The same happens with Open Source. Since the source code is open, code can be used from different sources in a single project/program. This of course saves tones of time. Not only that, but it means that things such as network protocols can become much more unified and used easier between programs.

You see, as a fact, collaborative innovation is the key to creating free software. Why? Because the concept has the ability to claim not one, but thousands of developers. Something that can be created for large amounts of money by a small team, can be created with thousands of the same experts who come from different backgrounds. The software that comes out is the software that is created by the user for the user, which is a very large advantage. Linux, for instance has come a long way, and much of its components such as the kernel owe its existence to open source.