Releasing software as open source is LLNL’s default position when the content isn’t classified or controlled. That wasn’t always the case; the cultural shift took some time.
One common argument is relevance. Why do we deliberately produce software for public consumption? Because the potential for new discoveries and applications is too great to ignore.
The conclusion doesn’t just hold for open source and its relevance to scientific computing– parts of OneBusAway are running in every one of the transit apps that I’m aware of.
Via 18F Blog