A call for 1 million programmers

[mpfounder]

Overlarge programming teams tend not to be very effective, nor to produce very
good quality results, even if the individual practitioners are top-drawer.

Someone upthread estimated that there are roughly fivemillionprogrammers
world wide. If true, that means the OP wants 20% of the world's supply ofprogrammersto fund, er, participate in their project. Not even the best 20%
(in fact, arguably the stupidest). Phew!

I'll bet on Mr. Hawkins's success first.

My thanks to the OP for the book recommendation, and to Curt for the
information that made me thankful about it.

Jeff Hawkins deserves a lot of thanks. It would be great if a lot of
people signed up to this group and then decided they wanted to go work
with the Numenta Platform. I'm all for it.

 

[mpfounder]

"My" worried?

Certainly not a lot of money for those who pay, but $10 times 1M each
month *is* a lot of money in your pockets. Any scheme that requires
the "employees" to pay to join is a scam, in fact it's the key
defining factor.

/gordon

--

Not quite, there are many employee owned companies. They buy in with
their work, or their money or both. Real organizations need a budget
to work from. Good leadership costs.

 

[mpfounder]

All the while you remain anonymous, you have no credibility. Why would
anybody sign an NDA, contribute their free time (and $10 a month), and
agree to be told what to do by a stranger on the Internet? Actually, a
stranger on the Internet who is not prepared to commit their own time to
the project without compensation (but promises not to take any more than
their $500k annual living expenses)?


It's a tough one... I'll get back to you...

Dan.

You miss the point. Why should I at this stage subject myself to
scrutiny when all I am doing is Championing a cause? And whoever,
said I wasn't prepared to commit my own time? I'm actually willing to
provide my time, ideas, and a bit of software as well. If you didn't
notice, I added that the subscription fee would be phased in, and
there would be a board, that I'm going to choose initially (although
it could be voted on...that is ok with me too), but they would easily
be able to replace me if what I contribute is deemed to be not
worthwhile. Then what do I get? I get my 4% if they utilize my
ideas. I get paid if I have a lot of management responsibility.

But again the only commitment is to join a google group and hopefully
get others to join and discuss what could be an interesting and
meaningful project.

This is only a list, you and others here are WAY too focused on the
fact that I'm being straightforward and saying that it takes money to
operate.

If someone thinks they have better ideas, then they can get together
with others from the list and form their own project. It matters not
to me. As far as being anonymous, my identity would have to be known
when the project's company was formed.

 

[Lew]

It would be great if a lot of
people signed up to this group

Sure, it would be great. For /you/.

and then decided they wanted to go work
with the Numenta Platform. I'm all for it.

Or they could cut to the chase and try for Numenta right off.

 

[Lew]

You can't build a good platform for anything with a few programmers,
maybe with 20-30 you can begin to do something. 20 years ago maybe
you could begin to do something with a small core group, but not now.
Case in point: Is an OS conceptually so difficult? No, but to do it
right, with all the bells and whistles, is an enormous undertaking.

Hooey.

You will need to back that claim up with evidence and logic. Your claim is
not supportable just in the statement of it.

It seems to me than a nawful lot of great software is written with small
teams, and certainly large teams introduce overhead to the point where large
enough teams cannot even function.

Else why would roughly half of all software projects costing over $100M fail?

Ok, there are a lot of reasons, but as Steve McConNell pointed out in /Rapid
Development/ (Microsoft Press), throwing warm bodies at a software project is
one of the thirty-six classic mistakes of software project management.

Some projects do require somewhat larger teams, but a million programmers?
20% of the world supply of programmers?

Tchyahh.

You do have the one essential ingredient for success - a great software
project requires a visionary with the overall concept in their mind.

I guess everyone that has responded expects that I'm going
to contribute my ideas, my software for nothing, and work for a
engineering salary or less. I don't give my time away, I do expect
compensation for my ideas, and I protect them.

BWOOOP! BWOOOP! BWOOOP! BWOOOP!

Uh-oh - my B.S. Detector is red-lining!

If you weren't asking for a million people to send you $10 a month this
argument might have a skootch of credibility. But as it is ...

 

[H2Dark]

You miss the point. Why should I at this stage subject myself to
scrutiny when all I am doing is Championing a cause? And whoever,
said I wasn't prepared to commit my own time? I'm actually willing to
provide my time, ideas, and a bit of software as well. If you didn't
notice, I added that the subscription fee would be phased in, and
there would be a board, that I'm going to choose initially (although
it could be voted on...that is ok with me too), but they would easily
be able to replace me if what I contribute is deemed to be not
worthwhile. Then what do I get? I get my 4% if they utilize my
ideas. I get paid if I have a lot of management responsibility.

But again the only commitment is to join a google group and hopefully
get others to join and discuss what could be an interesting and
meaningful project.

This is only a list, you and others here are WAY too focused on the
fact that I'm being straightforward and saying that it takes money to
operate.

If someone thinks they have better ideas, then they can get together
with others from the list and form their own project. It matters not
to me. As far as being anonymous, my identity would have to be known
when the project's company was formed.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Bravo dear mpfounder, finally a champion has arisen from the ashes of
the world... an unknown champion who claims to have the power (ideas)
to change the world...

I usually just read the messages to catch up, but this time, i must
admit this:

1) you are brave... to keep posting after the comunity has rejected
(part of ) your project
2) you have a good dream... as we all have
3) you have to keep dreaming... and stay like that, at least for a
while

Note this is my point of view and should be treated in such way...

So far, you have mention 2 big projects, the first, your company, the
second (wich is not so clear to me) the main project itself

1) The main project: is (is?) a great idea (just don't know what it
is..), to try to join a lot of programmers in a single project (ok
face it, a million? from some point of view this can make sense, aim
high... so you can get what you planned, i'd be really happy to see 50
or even 100 people - programmers- working on the SAME project, managed
by a single person - a single person can manage like about 10 or even
15 programmers-. a company it is like a piramid, the boss manages a
small group of people, from that group each one manages 10 or 15, and
so on... otherwise this can go crazy, but let's go back to the topic).
So you have this great idea, and need the help from other people to
achieve it (this is one of the right places to look for help), but
usually to get help from people you need to explain what is the need
and what is (exactly) want you want to achieve, and (obviously) what
the problem is, so far you have (semi) explained the 3 points.

Let's asume all you need is people's time (and knowledge), then you
come and say "hey i need help with this project" some of us, moved by
curiosity (or that sense to help other people) would help you out for
free. But then you say: "hey if you want to help me, you have to pay
me"... that is a complete no no, you are in the wrong place. The fact
that you want to impress with "let's change the world, let your dreams
come true, let's make this a better world... " leave that to other
people, that don't impress nobody around here (unlees that person is
starting to program, or just left schol), we programmers (at least me)
know already that we change the world with every program we make, most
of us have that "motto" from the very beginning (obviously the word
"world" means "our world"). Programmers do programs only for 2
reasons: they get paid and they like what they do (better if you have
both reasons)

2) Your company: need cash? work for it, need a company? pay the
employees you need (don't ask them money, pay them)

"I guess everyone that has responded expects that I'm going
to contribute my ideas, my software for nothing, and work for a
engineering salary or less. I don't give my time away, I do expect
compensation for my ideas, and I protect them."

You have say that you don't work for free (don't give your time for
free), most of us, also work that way, except in some cases (like when
a family member ask you to make this little program that.. that's
offtopic)

Making a conclusion of what you have said:

1) You have this great idea
2) You need "a million programmes" to achieve it
3) You want to form a company
4) You expect to get paid from the very beginning (already thinking in
stocks and all that)
5) You expect to people work for you for free (even worst, to pay you
at the beginning)
6) Noone knows what that idea exactly is (probably your idea is to
form your company, and see what happens)
7) You want at least a list of who might be interested in your
project. You should know that everybody here is interested in good
projects, so the list is irrelevant, maybe you need to know who you
can count with from the beginning, but you shold know that by now.
8) If you invest your time you must get compensated, (other people
don't, or at least not explained how, -personal achievement does not
count-)
9) The fact that you have the IDEA, does not makes you the founder or
the boss, makes you the manager (or the power user)
10) You have guts to keep posting

Many great ideas (programs) have been created in garages, with 4 or 5
people, if you need more than 50, then you must be a really great
manager, but i doubt that is the case since a good manager knows how
to "manage", convince, sell ideas and make people work, and so far is
a 0-mpfounder 100-comunity (and don't tell me that the board is for
that, the board is meaningless if there is nobody to manage, no
products to sell).

Anyway, good luck and godspeed


H2Dark
"A simple bit thinking that is a byte"


p.d. i know, i know my spelling is not correct

 

[Hunter Gratzner]

Talking about a million programmers means the guy has no sense for
numbers, no understanding how big a million of things really is, and
how things scale (or don't). That alone disqualifies him as the head
of this mysterious company.

Of course it is not about some great product at all. It is all about
the money. Ripping off a million people, $10 each, is a lot of money.
Ok, he won't manage to swindle $10 out of one million people, but
he'll maybe find 100 all over the world for a few month.

The usual way to get money for a company is to found one, invent a
story and then going public. Which is often a swindle, too. So we have
to give some credits for originality here.

To all the ones contemplating to join Mr M.P. "mysterious" Founder to
write "temporal software": Consider to donate the $10/Month to a
charity of your choice instead. Each $10 will make a larger difference
in the world than this mysterious company.

 

[Lew]

present time commitment, although it would be helpful, if people would
like to see what is alluded to happen, that they try to bring others
on board and to be positive not negative.

OK - I'm positive that you're trying to pull a scam.

 

[mpfounder]

Talking about a million programmers means the guy has no sense for
numbers, no understanding how big a million of things really is, and
how things scale (or don't). That alone disqualifies him as the head
of this mysterious company.

Of course it is not about some great product at all. It is all about
the money. Ripping off a million people, $10 each, is a lot of money.
Ok, he won't manage to swindle $10 out of one million people, but
he'll maybe find 100 all over the world for a few month.

The usual way to get money for a company is to found one, invent a
story and then going public. Which is often a swindle, too. So we have
to give some credits for originality here.

To all the ones contemplating to join Mr M.P. "mysterious" Founder to
write "temporal software": Consider to donate the $10/Month to a
charity of your choice instead. Each $10 will make a larger difference
in the world than this mysterious company.

I am here to champion a cause, but I hear a lot of objections. Is it
possible to overcome these objections...I don't know. Tell me what
they are and let's try to eliminate them. Here is what I'm hearing:

1. It is a scam because there is a mention of a subscription to fund
operations.

My response: Gone....no more talk of subscription or paying money in.
If there is ever a need for money for operations then it can be
debated later, and voted on.

2. It is a scam because I want essentially free labor to build a
company.

My response: I am championing a cause. Others are free to step up,
communicate with others in the Million Programmers Group, start and
build out their own projects or companies. I've been saying all along
that everyone is free to do this...in fact what could I do to stop
it? My hope is that these would be meaningful projects and in the
scope of what I mentioned in my first post: "make software that can
act and solve problems on it's own".

Probably a lot of programmers don't know where to start with this
(though would find it fascinating), so experience, leadership, and and
vision is required. Any of you have that?

Further, no one is required to stay in my proposed Project, not even
for a single day. If they join and find it is not with merit, then
they can quit. Hopefully, there will be some other groups proposed
that would be to their liking. For example, group(s) that are focused
on Numenta's Platform.

3. One Million is a ridiculous number, and how could you expect to
manage that number assuming you did get them?

My response: If One Million was reached, that would be amazing in
itself. Any number over 500 would be amazing. I could certainly
organize 500 or several thousand. 1 Million would require a great
deal of thought. To build a platform properly does take a lot of
resources, considering that the vast majority would be part time.
With 1 Million you could try many different ways. One Million is a
HEADLINER folks, take it as such! Right now it is just building
awareness and a list. That is a big step. Does it make any sense to
be specific right now, to purposefully engage in all the debates about
details, I don't think so.

4. You are anonymous so you have no credibility.

My response: My identity must become known to the people that work
with my ideas.

 

[mpfounder]

Bravo dear mpfounder, finally a champion has arisen from the ashes of
the world... an unknown champion who claims to have the power (ideas)
to change the world...

I usually just read the messages to catch up, but this time, i must
admit this:

1) you are brave... to keep posting after the comunity has rejected
(part of ) your project
2) you have a good dream... as we all have
3) you have to keep dreaming... and stay like that, at least for a
while

Note this is my point of view and should be treated in such way...

So far, you have mention 2 big projects, the first, your company, the
second (wich is not so clear to me) the main project itself

1) The main project: is (is?) a great idea (just don't know what it
is..), to try to join a lot of programmers in a single project (ok
face it, a million? from some point of view this can make sense, aim
high... so you can get what you planned, i'd be really happy to see 50
or even 100 people - programmers- working on the SAME project, managed
by a single person - a single person can manage like about 10 or even
15 programmers-. a company it is like a piramid, the boss manages a
small group of people, from that group each one manages 10 or 15, and
so on... otherwise this can go crazy, but let's go back to the topic).
So you have this great idea, and need the help from other people to
achieve it (this is one of the right places to look for help), but
usually to get help from people you need to explain what is the need
and what is (exactly) want you want to achieve, and (obviously) what
the problem is, so far you have (semi) explained the 3 points.

Let's asume all you need is people's time (and knowledge), then you
come and say "hey i need help with this project" some of us, moved by
curiosity (or that sense to help other people) would help you out for
free. But then you say: "hey if you want to help me, you have to pay
me"... that is a complete no no, you are in the wrong place. The fact
that you want to impress with "let's change the world, let your dreams
come true, let's make this a better world... " leave that to other
people, that don't impress nobody around here (unlees that person is
starting to program, or just left schol), we programmers (at least me)
know already that we change the world with every program we make, most
of us have that "motto" from the very beginning (obviously the word
"world" means "our world"). Programmers do programs only for 2
reasons: they get paid and they like what they do (better if you have
both reasons)

2) Your company: need cash? work for it, need a company? pay the
employees you need (don't ask them money, pay them)

"I guess everyone that has responded expects that I'm going
to contribute my ideas, my software for nothing, and work for a
engineering salary or less. I don't give my time away, I do expect
compensation for my ideas, and I protect them."

You have say that you don't work for free (don't give your time for
free), most of us, also work that way, except in some cases (like when
a family member ask you to make this little program that.. that's
offtopic)

Making a conclusion of what you have said:

1) You have this great idea
2) You need "a million programmes" to achieve it
3) You want to form a company
4) You expect to get paid from the very beginning (already thinking in
stocks and all that)
5) You expect to people work for you for free (even worst, to pay you
at the beginning)
6) Noone knows what that idea exactly is (probably your idea is to
form your company, and see what happens)
7) You want at least a list of who might be interested in your
project. You should know that everybody here is interested in good
projects, so the list is irrelevant, maybe you need to know who you
can count with from the beginning, but you shold know that by now.
8) If you invest your time you must get compensated, (other people
don't, or at least not explained how, -personal achievement does not
count-)
9) The fact that you have the IDEA, does not makes you the founder or
the boss, makes you the manager (or the power user)
10) You have guts to keep posting

Many great ideas (programs) have been created in garages, with 4 or 5
people, if you need more than 50, then you must be a really great
manager, but i doubt that is the case since a good manager knows how
to "manage", convince, sell ideas and make people work, and so far is
a 0-mpfounder 100-comunity (and don't tell me that the board is for
that, the board is meaningless if there is nobody to manage, no
products to sell).

Anyway, good luck and godspeed

H2Dark
"A simple bit thinking that is a byte"

p.d. i know, i know my spelling is not correct

Software is hard. Platforms require a lot of people to develop.
Linus Torvalds, built the kernel for Linux, but it took many more
people to "develop" Linux. It still hasn't unseated MS Windows which
took more people to develop.

A Million is a Headliner...I'm surprised that so many are taking it as
literal. It could happen, but certainly it would be difficult to
organize that many, but it would be worthwhile awareness and
attention. The world needs some new dreams, and leaders with Vision.

As I've said in another post, software used to be developed with a few
guys. It is much more complex these days, details and complexity are
always underestimated. User expectations are higher. GUI and Web
programming involve so many sub platforms and technologies. Then
there is testing, documentation, tools, API creation...

It is amazing the company making engine that exists today. Billion
dollar companies spring into existence in a few short years when
before it typically took twenty years. That is because there is
massive amounts of capital at the ready to be invested. However, the
infrastructure, even before these companies scaled it up, involved a
lot more than a handful of people. And a lot of such infrastructure
was borrowed, from Open Source etc.. Look at Apache Webserver
contributor list:
http://httpd.apache.org/contributors/ Even with this many
contributors do you think that their aren't things that could have
been done better and faster if they had more help?

What I'm asking people here, is not to support me personally if my
ideas turn out to have inadequate merit, but just to join a list if
they are interested in a big hopefully immensely interesting
project.

Unfortunately, perhaps because of my style to be forthright, about the
$ issue, people so far have taken it as a scam. I've taken the $
proposition out. Now it is just a list.

 

[Roger Lindsjö]

3. One Million is a ridiculous number, and how could you expect to
manage that number assuming you did get them?

My response: If One Million was reached, that would be amazing in
itself. Any number over 500 would be amazing. I could certainly
organize 500 or several thousand. 1 Million would require a great
deal of thought.

I very much doubt you could manage 500 programmers, much less several
thousands. By manage I mean know what they are doing, be able to answer
questions and guide them when needed. It would probably be hard for you
to even remember the names and over all tasks of each member, specially
considering that the churn could be quite high.

With 500 programmers you would be able to spend not quite 5 minutes with
each member per week assuming you did nothing else and working a regular
40 hour week. In reality I'd guess this this would mean no more than a
couple of minutes with each member (and then I think I'm optimistic).
With 1 million you would be able to spend almost 7 seconds with each
member per year (again assuming a meeting efficiency of 100%)!

4. You are anonymous so you have no credibility.

My response: My identity must become known to the people that work
with my ideas.

Yes, but why must it be hidden for now?

//Roger Lindsjö

 

[Roger Lindsjö]

A Million is a Headliner...I'm surprised that so many are taking it as
literal. It could happen, but certainly it would be difficult to
organize that many, but it would be worthwhile awareness and
attention. The world needs some new dreams, and leaders with Vision.

I assume a headline is somewhat related to the content of a post. If
someone says 1 million then I assume it is in the neighborhood of 1
million, not of by a factor 2000. I'm not sure I have even seen software
pamphlets or heard sales pitches that were that far from the truth.

As I've said in another post, software used to be developed with a few
guys. It is much more complex these days, details and complexity are
always underestimated. User expectations are higher. GUI and Web
programming involve so many sub platforms and technologies. Then
there is testing, documentation, tools, API creation...

So that's on top of the "1 million" programmers?, say another 500,000 QA
members, 200,000 tech writers etc?

//Roger Lindsjö

 

[Gordon Beaton]

I am here to champion a cause, but I hear a lot of objections.

Of course, because you are going about it from the wrong end. If you
want people to take you seriously, show interest and get involved, you
need to show real committment to your own "cause" by starting the work
yourself and letting your results generate interest.

But what I hear you saying is "I have this idea, so grand that it will
take a million of you, and so powerful that I can only share vague
fragments of it with the unwashed masses. Now come and realize it for
me, and pay me for the privilege of being part of it".

/gordon

 

[Patricia Shanahan]

mpfounder wrote:
....

Probably a lot of programmers don't know where to start with this
(though would find it fascinating), so experience, leadership, and and
vision is required. Any of you have that?

....

Lots of us have all that. For example, I have 32 years computer industry
experience, including over 20 years in various leadership positions, and
a plan for my Ph.D. dissertation research that has been approved by my
doctoral committee.

Would you like to pay to do some of the programming for my project?

You need to either give a lot more data about yourself, to convince
people of the value and relevance of your experience, and the strength
of your large project leadership skills, or a lot more data about your
vision, to convince people of its value.

Patricia

 

[mpfounder]

mpfounder wrote:

...> Probably a lot ofprogrammersdon't know where to start with this

...

Lots of us have all that. For example, I have 32 years computer industry
experience, including over 20 years in various leadership positions, and
a plan for my Ph.D. dissertation research that has been approved by my
doctoral committee.

Would you like to pay to do some of the programming for my project?

You need to either give a lot more data about yourself, to convince
people of the value and relevance of your experience, and the strength
of your large project leadership skills, or a lot more data about your
vision, to convince people of its value.

Patricia

Hi Patricia,

It is great that you have that experience, and the question wasn't an
inference that there weren't programmers with a lot to offer. It was
more or less a Rhetorical question.

At this point the proposal is for any programmers to join a list. Not
to pay anything, or to as yet give of their programming. There is no
point in taking things to the next step, if the interest is not
there. That is what a list is about: generate the buzz and interest,
then if there are meaningful numbers joining, proceed. What is a
meaningful number, you might ask? Maybe one hundred and growing.

As per you PH. D. dissertation, if it is something that is truly
cutting edge then I would consider making a donation towards it's
success.

 

[Patricia Shanahan]

mpfounder wrote:
....

At this point the proposal is for any programmers to join a list. Not
to pay anything, or to as yet give of their programming. There is no
point in taking things to the next step, if the interest is not
there. That is what a list is about: generate the buzz and interest,
then if there are meaningful numbers joining, proceed. What is a
meaningful number, you might ask? Maybe one hundred and growing.

....

Anyone joining your list would, in effect, be voting in favor of either
you as a leader or your vision as a project.

I won't give my voice to *anything* without knowing far more about it
than you have chosen to reveal. I simply cannot evaluate the merits, for
lack of information.

Patricia

 

[mpfounder]

I very much doubt you could manage 500programmers, much less several
thousands. By manage I mean know what they are doing, be able to answer
questions and guide them when needed. It would probably be hard for you
to even remember the names and over all tasks of each member, specially
considering that the churn could be quite high.

With 500programmersyou would be able to spend not quite 5 minutes with
each member per week assuming you did nothing else and working a regular
40 hour week. In reality I'd guess this this would mean no more than a
couple of minutes with each member (and then I think I'm optimistic).
With 1millionyou would be able to spend almost 7 seconds with each
member per year (again assuming a meeting efficiency of 100%)!



Yes, but why must it be hidden for now?

//Roger Lindsjö

Of course I couldn't manage 500 programmers by myself alone. But I am
certainly capable of outlining the scope of the work, defining
requirements, ascertaining the leaders, championing and organizing the
programmers into many smaller subgroups.

To do this effectively with 50, 500 or 2000, I would make use of tools
to qualify and quantify skills, preferences etc. Surveys are but one
tool which I've used quite successfully to perform human resource
management related tasks. Surveys can make short work of what can
otherwise be a very laborious process.

One thing that I will throw in here is that I think that there needs
to be many champions. People need to be encouraged on a constant
basis to keep the morale and enthusiasm high. There needs to be
excitement. My hope is that the activity of the project would not
only be limited to the online world, but that there would be small
subgroups that would form and meet up on some regular basis, maybe 1
time every other week, or once a month. There is definitely a social
aspect that I hope would take place.

As per being anonymous, I don't wish to subject myself to personal
sorts of scrutiny, that are often going to be just someone with an ax
to grind. At some future point, if there is ample interest in
proceeding, then I will make my identity known. Keep in mind that the
Group right now is simply a list to join, an initial step only.

 

[mpfounder]

Of course, because you are going about it from the wrong end. If you
want people to take you seriously, show interest and get involved, you
need to show real committment to your own "cause" by starting the work
yourself and letting your results generate interest.

But what I hear you saying is "I have this idea, so grand that it will
take amillionof you, and so powerful that I can only share vague
fragments of it with the unwashed masses. Now come and realize it for
me, and pay me for the privilege of being part of it".

/gordon

I started the work myself a number of years ago. It has been on hold
for some life events that happened, and then more recently as I
pursued development of software for my startup. I have a keen
interest and passion for my former type of development and research
however, and hope to return to it as soon as possible. I have had some
new ideas come about that I think have merit; some from reading Jeff
Hawkins book, and some from just being out walking and thinking.
Inspiration doesn't always happen at once or on a schedule.

I'm not asking for any commitment excepting an expression of interest
by joining the group. It saying "who is out there that wants what I'm
proposing in general terms". There is currently no strong initiative
in this area. Personally, I think it is great when anyone steps up
with a grand challenge of any kind. I've seen a little bit of this,
with the X-Prize etc., but not a lot in general.

If a person has no interest in what I've proposed then there is
certainly no reason for that person to join the group. But I think
that actually, people like Jeff Hawkins, actually have it a little
backwards, in that what they wish to accomplish is an enormous
undertaking, which they are very under resourced for.

People on this group keep asking what could I possibly need this
number for. A million is certainly an ambitious number to throw out.
I would like to see a million or even 1000 people interested in this
area, and I think there would be some significant things that come out
of this if there are. This is more an idea to form a group that
builds awareness than it is a group to promote my project. But I have
to offer something or it is just conceptual.

Also, as I've repeated myself on now several times: platforms take
significant resources...complexity and details are always
underestimated. For the nay sayers to this I'd make a small
challenge: Go to the Apache projects and ask each one of them if they
feel that they have adequate resources to do everything they'd like to
do, and if they think any compromises have been made due to lack of
resources.

Now I think Apache projects are great, but I wouldn't put them on the
level of what Numenta is trying to accomplish, or the X-Prize. These
are Grand Challenges. As for proving the technology first, it may
need a grand effort.

 

[mpfounder]

mpfounder wrote:

...> At this point the proposal is for anyprogrammersto join a list. Not

...

Anyone joining your list would, in effect, be voting in favor of either
you as a leader or your vision as a project.

I won't give my voice to *anything* without knowing far more about it
than you have chosen to reveal. I simply cannot evaluate the merits, for
lack of information.

Patricia

No Patricia, joining the group would be saying you are in favor of the
concept of a Grand Challenge that focuses on projects that could make
software do things that current software and platforms are incapable
of. You would not be endorsing my project unless you actually joined
it.

You would be free to express your opinions at any time. As people
join more ideas will be expressed, and more discussion will take
place. Of course I wouldn't want anyone to join who didn't find this
sort of thing to be of interest.

 

[mpfounder]

Sure, it would be great. For /you/.


Or they could cut to the chase and try for Numenta right off.

If they cut to the chase then they/you won't be spending much time
getting others interested, which is probably a better goal until some
critical mass is obtained.