Robert L. Read Builds Robots; Wants You to Learn Functional Programming

Robert L. Read from the United States has been nominated for FOUR 2020 #Noonies in multiple award categories, including Software Development .

Thank you to our 2020 Noonies partners: Sustany Capital, .TECH Domains, Grant for the Web, Skillsoft, Flipside Crypto, Udacity, and Beyondskills! The Noonies are Hacker Noon’s way of getting to know — from a community perspective —  what matters in tech today. So, we asked our Noonie Nominees to tell us. Here’s what Robert L Read had to share.

1. Which 2020 Noonie/s have you been nominated for?

1. Hacker Noon Contributor of the Year - COVID-19
2. Hacker Noon Contributor of the Year- CORONAVIRUS
3. Hacker Noon Contributor of the Year - OPEN SOURCE
4. Hacker Noon Contributor of the Year - TESTING

2. Tell us a bit about yourself.

I'm trying to grow Public Invention, a 501c3 public charity which focuses on inventing "In the public, for the Public."

We're trying to create a third pole of innovation to balance universities and for-profit firms.

We believe inventing is a fundamental moral activity that can advance human progress, and we're trying to support inventors doing that.

3. Tell us about the things you make / write / manage / build.

Robots. In particular, research robots that are made of length-changing actuators in the form of tetrahedra composed into snake-like robots that can crawl (slowly), and also lift things.

But I've published about 45 other ideas, ranging from trivial to very, very hard, in fields of pure math, art, sanitation, energy conservation, etc. : https://medium.com/hackernoon/43-public-invention-projects-that-need-you-a8e4e39130b4

4. What are you most excited about right now?

The rise of open-source humanitarian engineering in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

5. What are you worried about right now?

Global warming and inability of humanity to actually face its major problems.

6. What's the most useful advice you've ever given somebody?

You would have to ask them, wouldn't you? But, be awesome; be brave---do what you think is right.

Do your homework.

When someone says "that's been done" they are probably wrong.

Learn to debug.

Learn functional programming.

Save as much of your money as you can.

Never stop learning.

7. How has the pandemic changed your life and/or career?

It made me shift more from pure invention to engineering.

8. If we gave you $10 million to invest in one thing right now, where would you put it?

Open source ventilators; assuming you mean "invest" in a philanthropic sense. For making money, I would try some sort of bio-tech. I would stay away from any crypto-currency as a store of value.

9. What's an opinion you have that most people don't agree with?

Humans should not compete with each other.

10. Which apps can't you live without?

Email.

11. What are you currently learning?

Complex analysis, when I can, and pulmonology, more than I ever wanted.

VOTE for Robert L. Read as: 

1. Hacker Noon Contributor of the Year - COVID-19,
2. Hacker Noon Contributor of the Year- CORONAVIRUS,
3. Hacker Noon Contributor of the Year - OPEN SOURCE, or
4. Hacker Noon Contributor of the Year - TESTING -

- before voting closes on 12 October, 2020! 🚀

Shoutout to Hacker Noon's 2020 Noonies Partners: Sustany Capital, .TECH Domains, Grant for the Web, Skillsoft, Flipside Crypto, Udacity, and Beyondskills.