Me, Me & More Me

April 20, 2010

Social Entrepreneur, Inventor, & Enthusiastic Purveyor of Social & Scientific OPTIMISM (also a radical feminist, & child/animal rights activist) > ................................................................................................... BIO: I've raised venture capital to develop & manufacture high-density memory disks; received a NIH grant for medical device development; received multiple patents in the areas of computers & medical devices; served on MIT Venture Forum panels; placed 4th as entrepreneur of the year, National Association of Venture Capital Clubs; and founded & operated a number of successful companies - including being part owner & producer of a TV channel (not so successful). Last, but not least, topping any biographical list of accomplishments has to be, of course, that I've won 3 InnoCentive Challenges this year, Yay! > > > ................................................................................................... Another accomplishment I'm proud of is having designed a stand-alone mechanical device able to play a mean game of Tic-tac-toe using the fewest number of parts that's mathematically & physically possible. However, I have to admit, not many others seem particularly impressed; Oh well! Another source of pride is that I can name the ONE, single, movie that depicts the future in a (reasonably) fully, truly optimistic fashion (Can you name one?) - whereas many persons seem unaware that our society is so lacking in this commodity, or that the lack has reached such a degree that it qualifies as being termed pathological at the societal level. Go figure! > > > ................................................................................................... CURRENT: I'm working on an artificial agent simulation using Netlogo, seeking to use it as a defacto "pseudo-proof" of a (new) mathematical constant, somewhat akin to Feigenbaum's. It both acts on & results from biological evolution, homeostatically down-regulating efficiency, longevity, & fecundity (counter-intuitively) to optimize for adaptiveness in the face of environmental variation. > > > .................................................................................................... REQUEST FOR HELP, COLLABORATION: Sadly, I'm NOT an accomplished Netlogo (see link below) programmer, so I'm especially hopeful of hearing from any big-brained Netlogo wizard that may read this. > > > .................................................................................................... THE SOAPBOX ORATORY Since I'm not the kind of person to let a perfectly good soapbox go to waste, especially when there are so many persons in the world without one... There's significant relevance of this work to a wide range of socially positive causes - connecting disparate subjects ranging from the neurobiology of child abuse to the behavioral transmission of neuro- degeneration within communities. Pandemics of this neuro-degeneration are not uncommon, resulting in blighted, communities that aren't particularly hard to identify, once you know to look for them. Someday, it'll be possible to catch these communities on the cusp, before they reach the widespread pandemic stage. Help can then be targeted to "nodal" or "carrier" communities to help them recover. Learning to deal with mental "illness" at the community level by understanding the larger evolutionary principles involved will open up a number of new ways of looking at old problems. For example, the ultimate down- regulation of efficiency is endemic poverty. Here is the path to understanding its true root cause, for example. Early childhood is the key, & identification of the worst communities & targeting them will have ripple effects across all communities in our society (of communities). > > > ................................................................................................... Ever wonder why the world is so crazy? It really is you know! This universal down-regulation results in a comorbid increase of susceptibility to, & transmittal of many diseases & disease vectors, thus decreasing fecundity & longevity. Unexpectedly, this increases species survival when facing extinction events - and it's roots are DEEP, going back to the single-cell stage of life. Most amazingly, this evolutionary "governor" (re: steam-engine governor) also greatly influences "complex" behaviors such as trust, cooperativeness, and even a societies rate of innovation & it's ability to accept new things & changes. Here lies the deepest root cause (singular, not plural) of endemic poverty & also of all economic bubbles (The beauty of how it all fits together is ALMOST as satisfying as that of a Tic-tac-toe mechanism when contemplated in it's most simplified form!). > > > ................................................................................................... The mathematics (a new bio-constant?) should also be helpful when optimizing routing paths, & provide a definitive, full explanation of hormetic down- regulation. Simply put; there's hope of providing the mathematical underpinnings to back up the oft-used but seldom fully-comprehended phrase "Culture IS Biology." A TRUE financial justification for "investment" in "social" goods may now be at hand. Inefficiency is fairly easy to measure for an amoeba struggling upstream as it follows a sugar gradient, but one would think it would be very difficult to determine for millions of people. Fortunately, there's a handy basis applicable to large groups of people - it's called the Gross Domestic Product. If what's true for amoeba's hold's true for humans, and there's no reason to think it shouldn't, then there's a potential "goldmine" of as much as 40% of the GDP waiting to be reclaimed & mined now that we know it exists & have the tools to go after it. Currently, the word "investment," when used in relation to social "causes," is a farce & only has semantic reality & meaning. One cannot go to a community bank & borrow money to feed the poor or provide healthcare based on the anticipated financial return & increase to the local tax base - but this could change. Back to that analogy to a vein of gold: ANY potential for a percentage-basis return on the GDP is a pretty big deal, let alone double-digit returns (2008 US GDP = 14.2 trillion). Fancy words & arguments won't cut it though, only hard math backed up by a valid proof that validates real-world economic data is going to suffice for the investment banking community to take notice. Profit has a long & proven history of being a great motivator & bringer of change. Using the aforementioned "MOTHER" of all Mother-loads as a carrot, there's cause to believe a significant reduction of many of the worlds social ills could be at hand. Any filmmakers out there? Perhaps someone should start thinking about making a SECOND film (or book) depicting a fully optimistic future for humanity! (Have you thought of one yet? Are you SURE it really depicts a positive future? Email me, as far as I know there's only ONE. I've yet to hear anyone name a single one that would even remotely qualify. This amazing fact clearly signifies a deep, mostly unrecognized, pathology.) > > > ................................................................................................... COLLABORATION WITH OTHER SOLVERS ON INNOCENTIVE or EDISON NATION CHALLENGES & CONTESTS - CONTACT INFO: I'm (very) interested in cooperating on Challenges with other Solvers (and in the concept & possibilities of group efforts in general), so please, don't hesitate to contact me (A simple "Hi," is a great first step!), I'm; > > > MakeItSo > at > > > michael.sirbola@gmail.com > .................................................................................................... Netlogo is Free to Download from a Nonprofit Edu. at http://ccl.northwestern.edu/netlogo/