I think this post serves as a wonderful blueprint as to how one can create a passionate community of individuals with a single goal in mind.
I would love to see another post, detailing the other side of UM's success; the long hours students spent training, and preparing for a hackathon. Everyone loves to make the claim that they showed up at a hackathon, learned how to program some new language, and take top 3 at a hackathon. What many posts fail to address are what was done to rally the students around such causes and get them both mentally and technically prepared for a hackathon.
Great job David et al, can't wait to see what's next!
I really liked the insight that you formulated: When an idea/object falls into the hands of the many, real innovation starts to flourish. It becomes a science experiment on a scale not previously possible, where research is continuously conducted in garages. Though this experimentation isn't as efficient as it could be, if it was organized, the scale of the work being done marginalizes the gains efficiency could possibly create.
The advice is sold too! Unplugging is often the most helpful way to get sh*t done. Another technique I came across recently is to start off your day with production rather than consumption. i.e. start your morning writing a 500 word essay or going outside, sitting in a park, and just making those wireframes. Your day will be exponentially more productive!
Same here. When I saw the post, I was wondering if it is the same person, because the other hacker also used the same algorithmic implementation for the recommendation engine.