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