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Moth Minds: Fund individuals doing work you believe in

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Re: Moth Minds: Fund individuals doing work you believe in

#51

Post by koheripbal »

physicsgraph wrote: post #48
koheripbal wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have tried that, but people online don't really have an open mind. I'll tell you right now... I feel like there is a way to model the 3n+1 system of equations (or really any such generalized system) using Godel numbering as a representation of each operation, as a prime number based programming language of nature, and then try to glean something from the output primes to see if there is something that predicts the…

I'm not sure I follow what you're proposing, but in case it is tangentially related to a project I work on, I'll describe what I did. Write down every quantitative expression in Mathematical Physics. Assign a unique numerical ID to each expression. Identify the relations between each of the expressions to create a graph. Does that graph feature any patterns? Is there a path from any expression to every other expressi…

Rather than a numeric ID, the variables as well as the operations are represented by primes, as Godel described.

The resulting number's geometric properties might provide some insight into the properties of the original system.

The trick is figuring out which primes to use initially, and how to interpret the resulting number.

....but my gut tells me there is something there.

Re: Moth Minds: Fund individuals doing work you believe in

#52

Post by nerdponx »

5rest wrote: post #45
tarkin2 wrote: post #37

I like the idea. I wonder how much "return" financial contributors would want. I'd suggest allowing financial contributors to split a set sum between recipients. I've often liked the idea "I'll contribute x amount to whatever, this is how I'll split it per month" and being able to do that easily.

Not all contributors look for returns. There are people who are willing to contribute to a cause instead of say buying a TV. We see such contributions on gofundme to help out people in need.

Of course everyone wants a return! But it might be a return in satisfaction or something else that's hard to quantify, not necessarily money.

Re: Moth Minds: Fund individuals doing work you believe in

#53

Post by yosito »

koheripbal wrote: post #10

I would like $100k to work on the Collatz conjecture for 6 months. I have an idea that will probably fail, but if I had that money I would quit my job work my ass off for six months to flesh it out. But I have no credentials, no way to write a grant proposal, and even I wouldn't invest in myself. ....and yet if we did this sort of experiment 10000 times over, humanity might make some big breakthroughs because some of…

> I would like $100k to work on the Collatz conjecture for 6 months

> I have no credentials

Then why would you need $100k to work on mathematics?

Re: Moth Minds: Fund individuals doing work you believe in

#54

Post by axelsvensson »

koheripbal wrote: post #38
ok_dad wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For something like this, if you have a good idea, why not explain it and make the idea public so someone with more time can research it? You'll only lose the chance to make a big name for yourself, and if it pans out you'll still get some credit, and the human race will have advanced in knowledge. It's not like you're giving away a possible formula to nuclear fusion. What's the downside I'm not seeing?

I have tried that, but people online don't really have an open mind. I'll tell you right now... I feel like there is a way to model the 3n+1 system of equations (or really any such generalized system) using Godel numbering as a representation of each operation, as a prime number based programming language of nature, and then try to glean something from the output primes to see if there is something that predicts the…

I feel like that would fail. The reason is that Gödel numbers are rather arbitrary, and will therefore be rather far from a form that insights can be gleaned from. They are a representation of a representation, using the fundamental theorem of arithmetic only as a trick to encode any string of symbols into one integer.

As an example of just how arbitrary Gödel numbers are, consider the expressions `((3*n)+1)` and `((n*3)+1)`. Those expressions are clearly equivalent, yet the Gödel numbers for those two expressions are wildly different, with a relation that is rather complex.

IIUC Gödel himself never "used" or analyzed Gödel numbers as such, only the idea that they could be constructed.

Re: Moth Minds: Fund individuals doing work you believe in

#55

Post by orzig »

ok_dad wrote: post #33

I would love to work on open source, well designed, free software to control distributed energy resources and building load. Currently I've worked for several companies doing this, but I think that closed source, non free software will never allow us to truly reach the full electrification and decarbonization we need, and the power grid, both generation and transmission, is only getting more complex to manage with th…

To give a sense of scale, how much would it cost to get you to do it? I'd love to help fund it, but definitely don't make fully 2x "Support a family", so it would be intersting to know how many people I'd need to round up.

Re: Moth Minds: Fund individuals doing work you believe in

#57

Post by marginalia_nu »

x0xrx wrote: post #40
mike_d wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd love to take a year and just build free security tools for people to use. I don't need a mentor to do that, I just need a salary replacement for that time period. This reeks of the mantra of product managers everywhere... "There is no way a brilliant engineer would be able to create something great without management."

1. Apply for new job, get 30% raise (apparently everyone is doing it). 2. Cut expenses by 30% (how hard can it be? Avocado toast is tre expensive!) 3. Save for just one single year. 4. Hey there’s your salary replacement! Looking forward to awesome security tools (seriously, legit looking forward to it). (Lest you fear obsolescence; 5. Get your new new job, 30% raise again).

Probably easier to just work part time. I do 32 hour work weeks. I'm still well paid by non-IT standards, and it allows me to put at least some time toward not-for-profit R&D-type stuff. I do appreciate not everyone is in a situation where that's viable.

Would I like to just get money to build cool stuff, sure. But since I'm not an actual Ferengi, I like to build cool stuff more than I like hoarding money. So this is my compromise, I make enough to make due but not so much I don't have time to do good things.

Re: Moth Minds: Fund individuals doing work you believe in

#58

Post by koheripbal »

yosito wrote: post #53
koheripbal wrote: post #10

I would like $100k to work on the Collatz conjecture for 6 months. I have an idea that will probably fail, but if I had that money I would quit my job work my ass off for six months to flesh it out. But I have no credentials, no way to write a grant proposal, and even I wouldn't invest in myself. ....and yet if we did this sort of experiment 10000 times over, humanity might make some big breakthroughs because some of…

> I would like $100k to work on the Collatz conjecture for 6 months > I have no credentials Then why would you need $100k to work on mathematics?

I'm saying I have no formal credentials in Math specifically, not no professional credentials in any field.

100k for six months would be a pay cut for me, but maybe you're right... Maybe I'm being greedy at the opportunity to make a real contribution.

At the end of the day I still need to feed/house a family of five so the 100k is still ballpark, but maybe I can set aside a few more than 6 months. 10?

Not that it matters because who would fund someone with no formal credentials in Math? Even I wouldn't fund me.

Re: Moth Minds: Fund individuals doing work you believe in

#59

Post by infogulch »

mike_d wrote: post #27
benfarahmand wrote: post #6

If the goal is developing grantee self-efficacy, the funding should require pairing with a mentor. Finding a mentor that is willing to guide a grantee to bring an idea to fruition is also validation of that individual's ability to accomplish the task.

I'd love to take a year and just build free security tools for people to use. I don't need a mentor to do that, I just need a salary replacement for that time period. This reeks of the mantra of product managers everywhere... "There is no way a brilliant engineer would be able to create something great without management."

Having a mentor wouldn't be like having a manager at all. A mentor can't control what you do, or interact with your goal. The only (shallow) similarity I might admit is as someone that you infrequently explain what you're working on that isn't intimately involved with the details. ... Maybe someone having your back, helping you stay honest with yourself, and pointing out obvious potholes you missed before you fall into them face first wouldn't be so bad.

Re: Moth Minds: Fund individuals doing work you believe in

#60

Post by infogulch »

benfarahmand wrote: post #6

If the goal is developing grantee self-efficacy, the funding should require pairing with a mentor. Finding a mentor that is willing to guide a grantee to bring an idea to fruition is also validation of that individual's ability to accomplish the task.

I'm not against the general idea of a mentor program, but a "validation gatekeeper" smells ripe for abuse. Maybe a better implementation for a general mentor program in this context would be a "peer mentor" -- every grantee is paired with two other grantees, one to mentor and one to be mentored by. Maybe there would be a loose expectation that your mentoring peers would rotate periodically.
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