Prizes

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Introduction

The prize money is only paid out after the conditions are satisfied. The amount of research and development effort that goes into winning a prize can be many times the size of the prize, so prizes can be amazingly efficient ways to accomplish development goals. Prizes also help develop a community and get publicity for a cause.

Criteria for a good prize

Peter Diamandis discusses:

Design goals

  • inexpensive -- Can it be constructed for under X dollars?
  • seaworthy -- Can it stay out at sea indefinitely (no or rare docking)?
  • longevity -- Will it last at least X years?
  • semi-stationary -- Can it stay semi-stationary without human intervention?
  • spacious -- Does it provide at least X sq feet of living space?
  • wave-resistant -- Does it bob no more than X when waves are height Y?
  • multi-purpose -- Can it be easily re-purposed to house all of the same businesses as exist on land (dentist office, grocery stores, etc.)?
  • modular -- Can it be easily combined with other seasteads to form a larger structure? Does it tile?
  • safe -- Can it tolerate waves of height X without excessive damage?
  • comfortable -- Is it at least as comfortable as an average house on land (warm, dry, spacious, stable)
  • easily constructed -- Can a single person with a pickup struck and readily available tools build it?

Non-design goals

Perhaps we should also think about explicitly what are _not_design criteria:

  • size - no max on size
  • weight - doesn't matter how much it weighs (although individual parts must be transportable by pickup)
  • speed - doesn't have to move more than 5 mph
  • build-speed - doesn't matter how long it takes to build
  • does not have to be energy or food self-sufficient; food and fuel re-supplies are allowed. (Although perhaps we should make this a criteria for the prize, even though seasteads would not need to be self-sufficient).

Example Prizes

Support Infrastructure
Fresh water · Food · Farming · Waste Disposal · Shelter · Appliances · Communications · Transportation · Medical and Health Care · Infrastructure Example
Socio-Economic, Political, and Legal
Legal · Defense · Money