Open Source Competitions And Prizes #1

I recently read Future Perfect by Steven Johnson. The book articulates what is meant by a person being a “Peer Progressive” – someone with a set of values based on the power of distributed networks to solve problems (a “Baran Web”) as opposed to a more regulated, centralized mechanism (a “Legrand Star”). It’s an interesting read that gets better as the book progresses. Lots of stories, but there is one particular gem.

There has been recent talk about prizes being used to alter the way drugs are found, such as Bernie Sanders‘ proposals for ways of funding the prize pot. I’ve written before about the idea of a teamless competition for open projects. We planned this, but have not yet deployed it – more about that later.

What I find interesting is Johnson’s description of the use of prizes (“premiums”) in mid-18th century England to find a way to produce a deep “Turkey Red” dye derived from madder plants. The organization administering this prize, and others, would become the Royal Society of Arts (RSA); the competitions were very successful. [...]