Scientists are finally coming up with ways to tap into the largely unused mental power of the gamer population and have developed a game where the player can cure cancer by scoring a high score. The game is called
foldit. It challenges the players to assemble proteins and are given points based on how stable the proteins are. The winning proteins are then assembled in a real-world laboratory and tested for their medical and industrial uses.
They found a way to take a task that no machine could ever complete due to the vast assortments of possibilities, and challenge humans, who can better learn the rules and from their mistakes, to the task. This is worth checking out if you ever feel guilty about the amount of time you waste online or playing games(like me).
2 comments:
That seems like a great idea that could apply to other fields as well. I'm about to post a similar field/situation that google has created. Harnessing people's imaginations can be as simple as creating a challenge such as a contest or a game. People work hard on memorizing trivia knowledge for game shows harnessing their singing potential for shows like American Idol. Not that there aren't other reasons for doing these things, it just helps people if you give them a reason why.
This post reminds me of two similar kinds of programs: Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence program's SETI @ Home, a program that allows your internet connected home computer to do some of the data analysis - it's been up and running since May of 1999. The other, The Screensaver Lifesaver Project, it's now over, but it had several programs that allowed your computer to compare molecular structures against 3.5 billion compounds in the search for cures to cancer and inhibiting anthrax toxins. It's brilliant using the power of the internet to search for cures. :-)
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