Support for Public Domain projects?
Andrius Kulikauskas
My real passion is to build a directory of "ways of figuring things out"
in all manner of fields, including math, science, engineering, medicine,
law, finance, theater, art, music, governance, agriculture, sports,
ethics, teaching, learning and many more. Here's my proposal:
http://www.selflearners.net/Business/Proposal and here are 200+ ways
that I've figured things out in my philosophy and my life:
http://www.selflearners.net/ways/ Ultimately, I want to express them as
games. Thus I'm active in the Gamestorming community for business
innovation: http://www.gogamestorm.com/?p=536
How might I best seek support, private or public, for such Public Domain
projects?
--------------------------------
Andrius,
What sort of support do you seek? Suppose you have all the support you
need - what will the support and your tasks look like?
Cheers,
Maria Droujkova'
-------------------------
Maria,
Thank you for asking!
I look forward to writing a longer reply.
What I plan to do these next few years, regardless of support, is:
* Create a conceptual map of how various ways of figuring things out are
related. Today I improved my sketch and I hope to put that up soon.
That makes the big picture navigable.
* Write up the hundreds of ways that I myself have used, with personal
examples, and relate them to other people's work, too.
* In each domain, interview creative people, document ways that they've
figured things out, and relate that to the big picture.
So there will be a growing web resource. I plan to start it out myself
until it's quite clear what it looks like. I very much like the idea
that Mike and Linda had about documenting people's solving process.
Yes, I very much want to do that. But I'd like to do it especially with
real life problems. Here's a method that I wrote up, "Deduce geometry
from network", which includes a philosophical investigation where math
is relevant:
http://www.selflearners.net/Ways/DeduceGeometryFromNetwork
Here I describe how I thought through my Gamestorming cheat sheet:
http://www.gogamestorm.com/?p=536
At some point I hope to work out a template by which people could
contribute thousands of solutions.
As a business, the simplest would be if I could find "angel customers"
and ultimately, real customers, who would pay me $5,000 or $10,000 to
share and document methods in their field of interest. Here's my list
of prospects:
http://www.selflearners.net/Business/Prospects
For example, Stephen Wolfram of Wolfram Alpha, Mathematica and "A New
Kind of Science" could fund me to work this out in Mathematics. The
Dachis Group could fund me to research business innovation methods.
Jeff Arnold and ShareCare could fund me to document and share the ways
conclusions are drawn in medicine. There are dozens of domains and
dozens of wealthy innovators who could sponsor me. We could surely
structure my work to benefit them. In particular, I could be engaging
online communities and crediting them for their support. I and my lab,
Minciu Sodas, in 2008 pioneered such online outreach as an authentic and
effective form of advertising:
http://winningbysharing.typepad.com/oaxaca/2010/02/some-learnings-on-community-outreach-and-the-value-of-authenticity.html
http://www.worknets.org/wiki.cgi?MornflakeOutreach
There are so many domains, that I could work for my whole life and do
quite well, serving 6 to 12 customers per year at $5,000 to $10,000. At
this point, it's my best idea, but not too likely.
So support would look like:
* Some income.
* Customers who care about specific domains and outreach to online
communities.
* Creative people who I could interview in the Public Domain.
* Feedback on the write-ups, what's useful, if anything. Which domains
are most interesting.
* I can code and draw and design, but at some point, it could be great
to have help, but that's not key now.
* I look forward to people contributing directly, but it's too early for
that.
As this progresses, I want to create all manner of games, like my
Face-the-Facts Phonics Flash Cards http://www.face-the-facts.com or
related to my math book that I'm working on, and some of those could
certainly generate income. I like the Kickstarter
http://www.kickstarter.com "all or nothing" way of pooling, but
unfortunately, they rejected my proposal for the phonics flash cards:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/livingbytruth/message/1119
I'm in the heart of Chicago's South Side, a huge Black American
community, both distraught and inspiring, where I am very loved. I
believe it's a perfect place for launching a culture, much like Lord
Baden-Powell did with scouting. I want a culture of self learners as I
write at http://www.selflearners.net The point of all of these ways
and games is to connect with people in a deep way where we can truly be
substitutes for each other as we figure out all there is in life. So it
will be extremely relevant to apply "figuring things out" to life at the
bottom of the racial caste system.
I'll write more. I appreciate our thoughts, questions, suggestions.
I write to "Math Future" http://groups.google.com/group/mathfuture/ and
also my working group "Living by Truth"
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/livingbytruth/
Andrius
Andrius Kulikauskas
http://www.selflearners.net
m...@ms.lt
+1 (773) 306-3807
Twitter: @selflearners
Maria Droujkova
On Thu, Feb 10, 2011 at 7:56 PM, Andrius Kulikauskas <m...@ms.lt> wrote:
My real passion is to build a directory of "ways of figuring things out" in all manner of fields, including math, science, engineering, medicine, law, finance, theater, art, music, governance, agriculture, sports, ethics, teaching, learning and many more. Here's my proposal: http://www.selflearners.net/Business/Proposal and here are 200+ ways that I've figured things out in my philosophy and my life: http://www.selflearners.net/ways/ Ultimately, I want to express them as games. Thus I'm active in the Gamestorming community for business innovation: http://www.gogamestorm.com/?p=536
How might I best seek support, private or public, for such Public Domain projects?
Thank you for answering the questions in detail - what a rich work you are doing! I will be pondering your letter some more. Meanwhile, here are two ideas.
Check out Gameful - it's a supportive community for anything related to games.
Consider asking someone who successfully applied to Kickstarter before to work on applications together. It's probably some technicality of format that led to rejection.
Your plan depends on people contributing. Consider finding at least one person and working on the contributing step with that person. You can develop and debug other parts of the plan yourself, but you can't develop collaborative parts solo until you see how they work with Another.
Cheers,
Maria Droujkova
Make math your own, to make your own math.
Andrius Kulikauskas
Thank you for the MathFuture forum and attracting a group of great
people, loving and responsive, and also caring about math. I will look
into Gameful and also Alexander's community Cut the Knot. Our response
here encourages me that, if I continue, and if I approach it well, there
might indeed be support for my math book as there was for Ben
Henderson's Punk Math.
I appreciate thoughts you may have about what you find meaningful in my
work, perhaps, what and how to crowdfund.
I share a letter that I wrote to Diane Bock to ask that she "be my
angel" and help me find "angel customers" for my directory of "ways of
figuring things out". She replied that she'll respond. Here I'm taking
the approach, I think as you suggest, that if I can find one "angel
customer" to work for, then we'll understand better why others might get
interested.
I appreciate your ideas.
Thank you!
Andrius
----------------------------
Diane Bock,
I write you because you are an understanding person. I would love for
you to be my champion.
I share with you my vision and then the obstacles I face to make a
living. I appreciate your thoughts. I share my own more broadly,
starting with my working group, Living by Truth,
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/livingbytruth/
I wish to nurture a culture of self-learners. I think that in our short
lives we can choose to live, grow, learn forever. We can choose such a
life here and now. I think that is the will of God who loves us.
I aim to inspire such a culture in the way that Robert Baden-Powell
inspired scouting. You and Community Cousins http://www.cuzz.org
inspire a culture. You also know of my work with Minciu Sodas,
likewise, http://www.ms.lt although I've had to move on, as I write
http://www.selflearners.net We do manifest the ideals that Jesus
declares as the kingdom of heaven. The Pyramid of Peace
http://www.pyramidofpeace.net is a wonderful example.
I am contributing hundreds of ways of figuring things out that I've used
in my philosophy and my personal life http://www.selflearners.net/ways/
I've sketched a theory of how they fit together into a "house of
knowledge" http://www.selflearners.net/ways/ways.php I want to write
them up, but also share others' accounts of how they have figured things
out. People may not care about the questions we've asked or the answers
we found, yet they may care about the ways that we have figured things
out, because they can apply them in their own lives as they think best.
We can help each other find our own answers. This is a culture of the
"poor-in-spirit" who would rather take many small leaps of faith than
one big one. We remake our lives and our world so that all truth is
right at hand.
I want us to express these ways as games so they are easy and fun to
use. Robert Baden-Powell transformed "Do unto others as you would have
them do unto you" into a game: "Do a good deed every day". Similarly, I
think that we can remake all of learning by illustrating deep ideas at
play. We can find Truth and vouch for it. We can engage God through
every way of figuring things out, starting with our favorite ways. We
can express every aspect of our culture as games so that everyone may play.
I'm currently living in Black America, in Chicago's South Side. This is
the most distraught and most inspiring place I know. Here is where the
culture of self-learners can truly prove fruitful. June Terry, who
sings with me at St.Benedict the African, dreams of starting a day care
for the learning disabled. She's very excited about my Face-the-Facts
Phonics Flash Cards http://www.face-the-facts.com We've started to pray
in twos-and-threes to make our dreams come true.
I wonder how to make a living. I failed at that with Minciu Sodas. I
have about $140,000 in debt. From 1998 to 2010, I had about 30 clients,
but I could never make it work. I came back to Chicago to work as a
tutor. I thought I would work for a few years. However, some students
and parents complained because I told them what I think, which is that
studying for tests and getting help with homework is generally
counterproductive. My boss wouldn't give me students anymore and soon
I'll have none. I'm morally very sensitive. I doubt if there is honest
work for me. The education system, academia, the finance system, the
health care system, the government, the nonprofit sector and the
corporate world in general all seem to be at odds with their purposes.
I ask God if he wants me to look for such work, and he says, No. He
says I should apply my creative talents. He has a lot invested in me.
I therefore thought through what I want to do, as I wrote above.
I can be flexible as I pursue my vision. I therefore seek customers or
sponsors for whom I would document "ways of figuring things out" in
their domain of interest, such as math, science, engineering, computer
science, biochemistry, genetics, medicine, law, finance, administration,
security, journalism, fashion, cooking, agriculture, music, art, dance,
theater, ethics and so on.
http://www.selflearners.net/Business/Proposal There are so many
domains. I would do great if I could find 5 or 10 customers a year who
would each contribute $5,000 or $10,000. I think they would benefit as
I reach out to online communities, thanking them along the way, as I did
for Mornflake cereal's video contest, see the links here:
http://www.selflearners.net/Network/KindWords I think the benefits will
grow clear as we share the many "ways of figuring things out" from the
many domains.
Who would want to be such a customer? I seek "angel customers" who'd
start me off.
I imagine they would be individuals with the heart, mind and means to be
my angel. I think of your husband, Larry Bock, who I learned of through
you. I admire him as the founder of the USA Science & Engineering
Festival http://www.usasciencefestival.org @USAScienceFest I would
love to document and share ways that the scientific method is used (so
differently in astronomy, geology, genetics...) and also how scientists
come up with their ideas. I could interest all kinds of online groups
in the festival. I did contact him, but please, you may be able to
explain best.
I have a list of people who I imagine might fund my services.
http://www.selflearners.net/Business/Prospects
I think of inventors such as mathematician Stephen Wolfram of Wolfram
Alpha, Mathematica and "A New Kind of Science". Larry alerted me to
"How Stuff Works", and the leader Jeff Arnold has now co-founded
ShareCare for health care questions, where I could share how doctors
figure things out. Dachis Group includes Dave Gray's XPLANE, and Dave
is a co-author of "Gamestorming", which is central for my vision and for
which I created a "cheat sheet" http://www.gogamestorm.com/?p=536 Kevin
Jones is a "thought leader" in the venture capital community. I live
about four blocks away from the Gary Comer Youth Center
http://www.gcychome.org which is funded by the Comer Science and
Education Foundation (Gary Comer was the founder of Land's End) but I
can't get in the door there, even as a volunteer.
In principle, this should all be possible. In practice, I will find out.
I think that our culture will have a playful economy.
I'm trying to learn that.
I look forward to your ideas!
Thank you,
Andrius
Andrius Kulikauskas
http://www.selflearners.net
m...@ms.lt
+1 (773) 306-3807
Twitter: @selflearners
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Maria Droujkova
there might indeed be support for my math book as there was for Ben Henderson's Punk Math.
There will be support for making your book. Just do not count on the first book as a source of reliable income. Actually, even bestseller authors not always break even.
I appreciate thoughts you may have about what you find meaningful in my work, perhaps, what and how to crowdfund.
You need the right crowd. More below.
I share a letter that I wrote to Diane Bock to ask that she "be my angel" and help me find "angel customers" for my directory of "ways of figuring things out". She replied that she'll respond. Here I'm taking the approach, I think as you suggest, that if I can find one "angel customer" to work for, then we'll understand better why others might get interested.
Thank you for sharing the journey. Heads up - it will probably take TRYING with many different ways before you can find the first good customer that works out for you and them. I would also recommend you starting small.
I wish to nurture a culture of self-learners. I think that in our short
lives we can choose to live, grow, learn forever. We can choose such a
life here and now. I think that is the will of God who loves us.
You have a strong religious alignment; you need to either work with people who share this alignment, or change the message. I would recommend the former. So the question becomes: where can a religious educator find networks and communities that share his faith?
I would like to suggest you look for people who have done something similar to what you want, probably in different subject areas, for (partial at least) role models. The first community for k-12 that comes to mind are Christian homeschoolers. Here are a couple of more established examples of individuals that build their education business on serving this population:
http://www.abeka.com/
http://www.sonlight.com/
Here are topic-specific examples: math and CLEP prep -
http://www.mathonthelevel.com/
http://clepprep.tripod.com/cleplessonplans/
For an institution example, look at Birgham Young College, one of the more forward-thinking institutions as far as pedagogy, and serving a particular denomination.
I want us to express these ways as games so they are easy and fun to
use. Robert Baden-Powell transformed "Do unto others as you would have
them do unto you" into a game: "Do a good deed every day". Similarly, I
think that we can remake all of learning by illustrating deep ideas at
play.
You can prototype a computer game in physical world. I am now doing it with Math Trek (an alternate reality game about growing math eyes) and Ko's Journey started as a physical game:
http://naturalmath.wikispaces.com/MathTrekResearchTriangle
http://www.kosjourney.com/
I came back to Chicago to work as a
tutor. I thought I would work for a few years. However, some students
and parents complained because I told them what I think, which is that
studying for tests and getting help with homework is generally
counterproductive.
I think when you make a contract, your first duty is to deliver what you contracted to deliver. If you find it interferes with morals, the right thing to do, in my mind, is to exit the contract, while "bearing witness" to problems you see, in some gracious way. Continuing to do hurtful things because you are paid is obviously not an option, even though 60% or so of the currently working people think their jobs are socially harmful or do no good. But I very strongly believe that sabotaging the task or trying to subvert it, while still working, is not appropriate either.
If you want to find students without homework, consider unschoolers. Or you can find students who enjoy and crave working on their own in appropriate ways, and whose tests are formative and helpful, rather than hurtful. This is a larger population than unschoolers.
Tutoring and organizing small classes, and doing it online, are still good ways to obtain income. Here is an example of a teacher who built his career around it:
http://www.sciencejim.com/
I doubt if there is honest
work for me. The education system, academia, the finance system, the
health care system, the government, the nonprofit sector and the
corporate world in general all seem to be at odds with their purposes.
Look at sites such as http://shareable.net/ who work with different economies (e.g. the gift economy or the reputation economy).
You will have to build your dream position, finding people who need what you can do.
There are so many
domains. I would do great if I could find 5 or 10 customers a year who
would each contribute $5,000 or $10,000.
Can you scale it down from a year to hours? That is, can you do something helpful for someone in an hour or two, and get paid?
Offer first hour for free, too. At this point, positive client experiences are needed: a working model of what you can do in this world to serve people and for them to appreciate it.
Cheers,
MariaD