OSCOMAK update related to BFI challenge
Paul D. Fernhout
explaining OSCOMAK won't be advanced to the next round of the challenge.
I expect more and more resources to go into open manufacturing as years go
by (whoever they go to). So, while this is a disappointment for me of
course, overall, as this list shows, the open manufacturing field is taking
off. As I said, open manufacturing ideas will be on the Google main page
shortly (about holiday decorations), even if not that exact phrase.
The entry, for reference:
OSCOMAK BFI Contest entry"
http://groups.google.com/group/openmanufacturing/msg/c2bda71ba04a31a0?hl=en
Also, in idea I've just recently read about (previously mentioned here):
http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Towards_a_Free_Matter_Economy
"""
Both grants and prizes introduce serious hazards for poisoning the
self-selection and cooperative advantages of the bazaar development model.
... However, grant money, once given, is extremely hard to get back. So when
a person applies for a grant they must endure a gauntlet of tests, intended
to prove to the granting agency that that person is willing and able to
fulfill the promise they make in their proposal. If a grant is received,
will the project be completed? How much money will it cost? Real research is
full of unexpected set-backs and cost-overruns. Real researchers are full of
optimism and unrealistic deadlines. The skills for research, development,
logistics, and management are rarely found all in one person—good scientists
rarely make good accountants, let alone good receptionists. ...
"""
That reference isn't meant *entirely* as sour grapes. :-) And as I said when
I posted the entry to the list, if I had known Appropedia, a great project,
had entered last year, I would not have entered this year, but, I had
already paid the $100 fee to enter, so I thought it was worth doing anyway
as at the very least some advertising for open manufacturing. More than any
money, it is the endorsement and publicity by high profile organizations
like NASA or BFI down the road that will help such projects along with
contributions of time by volunteers. And to an extent, grants and prizes can
interfere with this collaborative process, even as we do all need to earn
money through jobs (or investments, or incurring debt, or prizes, or grants,
or gifts, etc) to survive in the society we have created.
Of course, even those with gifts may find it hard sometimes:
http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN1553342920081216
"As of Monday, at least three foundations had shut or planned to shut, and
another may be forced to close. ... In New York, the nonprofit Philoctetes
Center for the Multidisciplinary Study of the Imagination lost all of its
funding, its co-director Francis Levy told Reuters. The group, which focuses
on fostering innovation, may shut."
A big loss there:
http://philoctetes.org/story_of_philoctetes/
"The Philoctetes myth reappears in a book by Edmund Wilson called The Wound
and the Bow: Seven Studies in Literature. Wilson modernizes the story, tying
the wound to psychic trauma and the bow to the healing power of insight. And
so the creative personality is the one who uses art as a way of transcending
trauma. The artist chooses the road of insight over that of pathology."
These days, regardless of this BFI reply, I personally feel OSCOMAK is
losing its focus. :-( Maybe even *I* would not fund it at this point, if
presented with it. :-)
The central issue is that it is becoming obsolete. When I started on these
directions about twenty years ago (as "Stella"),
http://groups.google.com/group/virgle/msg/081919dbba30d1f7?hl=en
before the world wide web, it made some sense to think about a web of
information on just one computer.
http://www.pdfernhout.net/princeton-graduate-school-plans.html
Then, when I wrote it up as OSCOMAK ten years ago,
http://www.kurtz-fernhout.com/oscomak/
before Wikipedia, it made some sense to talk about one organization
fostering one community creating a service for people to collaborate in one
structured environment. Now, as this list shows, or the dozens of related
projects I can point to, some on this page here:
http://www.oscomak.net/wiki/Main_Page
so much is happening in so many different ways in various communities (yes,
Bryan, SKDB too :-) that it's not clear how best to help it all along
(standards for exchanging metadata is one possibility, of course). And we
are still not at the point of the next stage of a general "freevolution",
another term I tried that still seems too edgy, but which is still happening
one bit at a time. I changed the OSCOMAK acronym to "Open Source
*Communities* Organizing Manufacturing Knowledge", from *Community*, but on
a practical basis, that's really not what it is yet (this list made by
Nathan is doing a better job of bringing together communities, thanks
Nathan). It's reached the point where, to be frank, the things this movement
needs are really beyond my more introverted and software developer-oriented
personality (a personality has both its strengths and weaknesses). So, I'm
kind of thinking more about focusing on social semantic desktop issues and
metadata issues these days (but with a manufacturing emphasis).
Best of luck to those like Eric with other entries. And as I said at the
start, I'm quite confident that more and more money will be pouring into
open manufacturing as the years go by.
--Paul Fernhout
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Your Entry to the Buckminster Fuller Challenge
Date: Mon, 15 Dec 2008 12:00:09 -0800
From: The Buckminster Fuller Challenge
To: PAUL FERNHOUT
December 15th, 2008
Dear PAUL,
I am writing to inform you that your entry to the Buckminster Fuller
Challenge will not be advanced to the next stage of our review process.
The pool of entries to the 2009 Buckminster Fuller Challenge showed a broad
and varied set of initiatives, all characterized by a strong sense of
purpose, stewardship and humanitarian activity. The privilege of reviewing
such a demonstration of civic responsibility, innovative initiative, and
breakthrough creativity has been deeply inspirational.
We encourage you to stay in touch with us, and continue to develop your
project. We will be in touch with you in the new year about our plans to
include entries in the Idea Index.
While it is no doubt disappointing to hear this news, on behalf of the Board
of Directors of BFI, I want to extend our great thanks for your
participation and, more importantly, for the vitally important work you are
engaged in to make the world work for 100% of all humanity.
...