Show HN: My friend's project to simulate an entire C. Elegans • Hacker News Board

Re: Show HN: My friend's project to simulate an entire C. Elegans

#41

Post by codeulike » Wed, May 08, 2013, 2:52 PM UTC

vidarh wrote: post #40

songgao wrote: post #14

The about page [1] is very interesting. "3. Providing a foundation for uploading research .... If it can be done for a worm, the next steps are to attempt a zebrafish, then a fruit fly, then a honeybee, then a mouse, then a dog, then a macaque monkey, then a chimpanzee, and, ultimately, a human. " -- that really fascinate me. Isn't that awesome? But ... "the philosophical assumptions fail, and human immortality throu…

> Isn't that awesome? But ... "the philosophical assumptions fail, and human immortality through uploading is fundamentally impossible". To boil it down: They assume roughly that simulating the state and functionality of the neurons is sufficient to reproduce consciousness. If there's something more to consciousness - say for example that consciousness requires the specific organisation of matter of the human brain -…

Unless the software models those bits too and models them well enough.

Re: Show HN: My friend's project to simulate an entire C. Elegans

#42

Post by Hitchhiker » Wed, May 08, 2013, 3:10 PM UTC

lmm wrote: post #39

Hitchhiker wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

David's start is at 14 and not post 20 as most grad students. At minimum, he will end up making something like Mathematica like Wolfram and at max, he will change the world. The Big and Little Oh of this story are both extreme events.

That's an awfully high "minimum". I knew several "geniuses" at that age (might even qualify myself, though admittedly I was only three years ahead of par at that age); most of them have gone on to fairly normal (though by no means unsuccessful) careers, and a couple burned out quite spectacularly. I don't think putting that weight of expectation on is helpful.

In deed, you remind me of Solon's warning. Perhaps the better way to put it is he's attacking one heck of a problem - and with the right detachment to both industry and academia - so the minimum is based more on the quality of problems than the individual ( as unique as that is in this particular case ).

But yes, being an entrepreneur is an added layer, as you've to learn to arrange people to attain a larger goal than just research.

And he shows signs of that even on the jobs page while avoiding the broken method of interviewing that is oft practiced, he's almost defining a boundary for relatively high signal from the applicants.

His fluid approach is reminiscent of the caper that the Google guys pulled at Stanford.. and as it turns out, I think he also got funded by Larry.

Re: Show HN: My friend's project to simulate an entire C. Elegans

#43

Post by kanzure » Wed, May 08, 2013, 3:20 PM UTC

irollboozers wrote: post #27

kanzure wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is "Genome Compiler" an open tool? I hate those guys, it's not even an actual compiler. or open. If they wanted to do something useful, then yeah I would shoot for that package management concept.

Hmm - it seems those guys are not what I remembered/thought they were. I think they were somehow tied to the open bio standards project which is what I was thinking of.

Oh definitely, they pump out lots of confusing/wrong marketing all the time. I can see how they would get into that sort of list. Edit: you have a phd in pirate science?

Re: Show HN: My friend's project to simulate an entire C. Elegans

#44

Post by DaniFong » Wed, May 08, 2013, 10:22 PM UTC

sweettea wrote: post #37

dylangs1030 wrote: post #7

This isn't directly related, but he enrolled in an MIT graduate program at the age of 14 ? That's incredible. I would love to see how this project progresses. It has fascinating implications for artificial intelligence and singularity.

...and was fired from it.

This is not actually true.