I cannot help but wonder if there isn't an online board where geniuses
log in, submit one of their "spare" fabulous ideas, and are given
thousands of dollars and stock to follow-through with, or some such
system, where they then submit their "non-spare" ideas,... etc. And/or
collaborate with other geniuses on equally cool stuff before
submitting,...

Please uncover A) a huge conspiracy ie. aliens controlling the White
House, B) the depths of human nature and some new pill to counteract
it, C) yet another proof of the existence of God (my strong
suspicion), or D) some promising killer genius networking
entrepreneurial websites, oh baby!

I'm not sure what I'm looking for.

---

Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 03 Jan 2006 18:45 PST

Scottty,

Not quite an online board, but the McArthur Foundation regularly
announces "genius awards" -- gifts of thousands of dollars -- to those
they deem worthy by nature of their genius-like accomplishments thus
far:


http://philanthropy.com/free/update/2004/09/2004092801.htm
MacArthur Foundation Announces 23 Recipients of 'Genius' Awards


Is that the sort of thing you may have been aksing about?


pafalafa-ga

---

Clarification of Question by scotttygett-ga on 04 Jan 2006 18:38 PST

Thank you Pafalafa.

Your initial answer is one I forgot about, possibly because one cannot
apply for a MacArthur genius grant, one has to be submitted by a
selected academic, if I recall correctly. Hasi ti changed? If they
didn't run it that way, and even better, if they did something to
foster community and discussion, that would be a peach answer.

I had something more along these lines:
http://www.startupnation.com/pages/radio/SubmitElevatorPitch.asp

Though, yes, if MacArthur were opensource; that would be ideal.

Somewhere I can float an idea like room temperature iron hydride
superconducting circuits inside synthetic diamond, or ask how NMR
would be used for oil drilling, or why there aren't daily mass driver
launches? And if boiling epsom is an environmentally friendly
alternative to cyaniding gold placer deposits, wouldn't a consequence
of "free" energy have to be a drop in gold price?

How many geniuses are there -- 600,000?

Somebody must be doing something right with this internet thing.

---

Clarification of Question by scotttygett-ga on 05 Jan 2006 18:14 PST

One addenda:

Pafalafa, if you browse my name, you'll find I get very few questions
answered, and I would prefer to turn this around, so every other one
is rewarded, give or take.

I am probably looking for a pink sheet broker-dealer with a discussion
board frequented by inventors. (The SEC and NASD seem to have been
pro-bank anti-small-business-stock for a while, but maybe I'm wrong.
At one time, the pink sheet rules required broker-dealers to gatekeep
small stocks, but then this was changed?)

A distant second might be an academic effort like
http://www.entforum.caltech.edu/ . I just have a hard time seeing
anyone making anything in college.

One place for posting such fragments is 

SEARCH TERM: halfbakery

They  accept even 1/4 baked ideas, like those you mention. 
for free of course, and even there there are some rules:

krelnik's halfbakery newbie idea posting rules
http://krelnik.home.mindspring.com/half_faq.html

 Geniuses always posed problems 
http://www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/6393.html

Even bigger problems is with those who think they
are geniuses and aren't but who think  it entitles that to special awards
http://www.halcyon.com/jmashmun/npd/traits.html

You may object, and point out 'famous and employed geniuses'
(like Feynman or Einstein).  But if you study their biographies,
(recommended) you will find out they were hired for the same
reason others are: someone wanted a job done, they looked like
a good risk. Often hired 'in spite of' their genius, rather then for it.

 Actually, Einstein's case was more complex:

" When Einstein finally in
1911,  was made full professor at a university in Prague, the
president of the school commented thus on his performance : " We do
not really need a genius for this post, just someone who will file
results of the students exams on time".
 http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=484330
but it still illustrates the point.

Similar with Feynman
http://nobelprize.org/physics/laureates/1965/feynman-bio.html

 Ideas are cheap
http://9rules.com/whitespace/ideas_are_cheap_execution_is_expensive.php

If  there is 'a genius'  who can select from all those floating around,
polluting our intellectual universe, select those very few which
should be developed,

If such a lucky genius does exist, he needs to realize that s/he is unique.
Other people do not have such gift. They cannot tell which ideas should be funded.
Genius is privileged and can go and pick the right one,
work on it, develop it through own resources, so that the others, less
gifted, can see their
merit. That is one way genius can benefit society. If s/he also has
some business sense,
(a rare combination) they will be some monetary rewards or job in it as well.
 Jim Clark, serial enterpreneur, dounder of SGI, Netscape, .. is an
example of that genius
http://www-tech.mit.edu/V116/N12/clark.12n.html
http://sanjose.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/1999/07/12/story4.html
 Many true geniuses end up like Mozart, in unmarked graves.

Lot of ideas is not always mark of a genius - 
it can be just expansive phase ogf the bipolar disorder
http://www.mental-health-matters.com/articles/article.php?artID=179
http://www.mhsource.com/bipolar/?_requestid=271316

Internet is blessing for people with  great ideas,
http://discuss.fogcreek.com/joelonsoftware/default.asp?cmd=show&ixPost=99956
It just takes a website and a bit of PHP, and one can implement your
ideas in software,
 demonstrate that some people are positivelly afected by them...

If you feel lonely, perhaps you may find some peers here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mad_scientist

Good luck

Hedgie

Go Hedgeie go!

Nobody rides for free - you must have enough faith in yourself and
your service/product to start developing it rather than just lay out
the idea, although there are places where you can post projects
looking for investors.  There are a number of entrepreneurial centers,
groups, associations companies and individuals that have contests for
best business models within an industry or product ideas that you
might win $1,000 to $1,000,000 in such a contest.  However, unless
it's pure luck of the random draw, you might do better investing
regularly in the lottery where there's an infinitisimally small chance
of becoming wealthy with no further work invested.

You may start by looking for foundations but unless you've done a lot
of groundwork and advanced development, the MacArthur Foundation
probably will never hear of you before they grant their $500,000
"genius" grants that would support you to the tune of $100K per year
while you make your next breakthrough effort.

You may wish to check out:  http://www.capitalresearch.org/

Best regards,

Cindy

Nobody rides for free - you must have enough faith in yourself and
your service/product to start developing it rather than just lay out
the idea, although there are places where you can post projects
looking for investors.  (The SBA's Fundmatching program at the
University of New Hampshire comes to mind.)  There are a number of
entrepreneurial centers, groups, associations companies and
individuals that have contests for best business models within an
industry or product ideas that you might win $1,000 to $1,000,000 in
such a contest.  However, unless it's pure luck of the random draw,
you might do better investing regularly in the lottery where there's
an infinitisimally small chance of becoming wealthy with no further
work invested.

You may start by looking for foundations but unless you've done a lot
of groundwork and advanced development, the MacArthur Foundation
probably will never hear of you before they grant their $500,000
"genius" grants that would support you to the tune of $100K per year
while you make your next breakthrough effort.

You may wish to check out:  http://www.capitalresearch.org/

A good place to start is at www.zyn.com - They cover federal research
opportunities for small businesses and provide education and
networking that can put you in contact with potential investors and
potential partners.  They can also help you learn your way through the
SBA loan processes and provide resources on the ins and outs of gov't
procurement.

Best regards,

Cindy

Thanks for the rating and tip Scotty.

If you are sometime near SF bay area 
(which often tolerates smart people)
look up:
http://basn.org/
which organises conferences, sucj as
http://www.entrepreneur27.org/linkresources
sometimes attended by the 'angel investors'

Hedgie