Let’s have some fun and play with science. The FairTaxScorecard issues a challenge to all online Fair Tax Supporters to unite and show our strength while supporting scientific research with distributed computing resources.
The term Distributed Computing can be applied to many applications, including server farms and the world wide web. Distributed computing is any program or system that utilizes resources from multiple computer systems. Berkeley University developed the Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing (BOINC) system to perform scientific calculations previously reserved for supercomputers. The millions and millions of calculations needed for research are broken down and distributed to hundreds of thousands of volunteer’s computers. A program called BOINC automatically retrieves work, performs calculations while the computer is idle and then sends in the results back to the researchers.
Individuals donate their computer’s idle time to perform the scientific calculations. Berkeley’s BOINC will track every individual’s contribution and display the results on the project’s website. BOINC provides an opportunity for Fair Tax Supporters to compete against teams as diverse as the U.S. Air Force, AMD Users, Fraternities, and any number of other special interest groups such as Mensa.
The benefit to the scientific projects from a large group of Fair Taxers’ computer time is obvious. But, how will this help Fair Tax?
- Exposure
- Competition
- Activity
- Community
- Contribution
Remember, eighty-five percent of people who learn about the Fair Tax become supporters. Assisting with distributed computing efforts and competing against other groups provides another exposure opportunity for Fair Tax. Thousands of current BOINC participants could become Fair Tax supporters. This is a win-win proposition. Research is accomplished and the Fair Tax reform movement grows.
These teams support one or more scientific projects that utilize the BOINC’s Distributed Computing technology. The primary projects are:
| Project | Objective | Largest Team |
| Rosetta@home | Determine the 3-dimensional shapes of proteins to find cures for human diseases. | 334 |
| Predictor@home | Prediction of protein structures critical to biomedical questions of protein-related diseases | 736 |
| Climate Prediction | Experiment to try and produce a forecast of the climate in the 21st century. | 1,333 |
| Einstein@home | Search for spinning neutron stars | 1,069 |
| SETI@home | Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence | 14,324 |
To achieve the desired exposure, we need to compete and become a high ranking team in the existing projects. The large number of Fair Tax supporters can result in an impressive team. The current 471,477 BOINC users worldwide compete as individuals or teams ranging from 1 to over 14,000 users. A small Fair Tax team of a few hundred users can make an impressive showing in the smaller Rosetta@home project in a relatively short time. As the team grows, we can expand and achieve top ranking in all projects.
The ongoing nature of BOINC provides an opportunity for Fair Tax supporters to remain active with relatively little effort. The progress and accomplishment of the distributing computing effort will demonstrate continued success of the Fair Tax community, albeit for a non-Fair Tax issue. The activity, however, will build additional bonds among the Fair Tax/BOINC participants, resulting in a stronger community ready to take decisive action when it is needed.
Meanwhile, the Fair Tax/BOINC participants will make significant contributions to science. Remember, what goes around, comes around. Our contribution will not go unnoticed.
Visit http://FairTaxScorecard.com/boinc.phtml and find out how to sign up.