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World Community Grid Forums
Category: Retired Forums
Forum: Member-to-Member Support [Read Only]
Thread: I CAN handle the truth |
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Thread Status: Active Total posts in this thread: 11
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Former Member
Cruncher Joined: May 22, 2018 Post Count: 0 Status: Offline |
I know this has been brought up countless times, but I really believe we deserve a clear answer. How far are we along the path to completion of this project. I refuse to believe that nobody has any idea what the total needed for completion is. This becomes a problem for bringing in new members as well. Every time I mention WCG to a friend or family member and tell them about the project we are working on, the first thing they ask is, "how close are you?". Once I tell them that I have no idea, their interest instantly fades. Might be nice if we had that information.
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Former Member
Cruncher Joined: May 22, 2018 Post Count: 0 Status: Offline |
Good thing you made another thread on the topic. I don't think anyone saw the other 20 on the same topic.
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Former Member
Cruncher Joined: May 22, 2018 Post Count: 0 Status: Offline |
no need for sarcasm, I clearly recognized that when I made the post, but there has been no answer, nor have I read anything that really explains why an answer is so hard to come by
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Former Member
Cruncher Joined: May 22, 2018 Post Count: 0 Status: Offline |
from what I understand there are two reasons why how far it is completed is not known. First, the results need to be analized and verified/tabulated. Second, the people who maintain this grid only get the raw data in incomplete batches. As soon as one batch is completed the group that supplies the raw data releases another batch for processing and from what has been explained to me the releasing group has not communicated with the grid people how far the project has progressed.
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Former Member
Cruncher Joined: May 22, 2018 Post Count: 0 Status: Offline |
Hi Joshua,
Please read Rick Alther's post in this thread: https://secure.worldcommunitygrid.org/forums/wcg/viewthread?thread=468 Also, when you are asked "how close are you", tell them, "We are making more and more progress every day! And the more people we have donating their idle computer time to the project then the faster we will progress. You see folding proteins is a very complicated task, that's why we need idle computer time to help crunch the data. Proteins are the 'stuff' that living things are made of. No deep understanding of biology can occur without an understanding of proteins. They are, if anything, more important even than DNA and RNA..." Check this thread for an introduction to folding proteins: https://secure.worldcommunitygrid.org/forums/wcg/viewthread?thread=1288 There is more here: https://secure.worldcommunitygrid.org/forums/wcg/viewthread?thread=1322 And more still at the Institute for Systems Biology: http://www.systemsbiology.org/ |
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Former Member
Cruncher Joined: May 22, 2018 Post Count: 0 Status: Offline |
Joshua and all,
There is more info on the importance of protein folding here: http://www.nature.com/horizon/proteinfolding/background.html Many thanks go to Graham for finding all this information!  Now we can dazzle and amaze our family and friends with our knowledge of protein folding and its importance no matter how long it takes. The end results will benefit us all. |
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RT
Master Cruncher USA - Texas - DFW Joined: Dec 22, 2004 Post Count: 2636 Status: Offline Project Badges: 
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The title of your thread is "I CAN handle the truth" and then you say
----------------------------------------"I refuse to believe that nobody has any idea what the total needed for completion is." Perhaps that IS the truth. Personally, I suspect that there are people that think they know about where we are but do not have real confidence in that assessment. That being the case, the organizations involved are far better off not predicting the completion date because if they are wrong, the consequences would be far worse than just not predicting in the first place. I like you, and probably most other people, would like to have a feel about when we might be done. But I sympathize with their situation and understand their reluctance to predict and possibly be wrong. I think of this as a war. We have a war with disease and we do not know when it will end but we do know that the more we commit to it, the sooner we are likely to defeat individual diseases.  |
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Former Member
Cruncher Joined: May 22, 2018 Post Count: 0 Status: Offline |
Quite frankly, I cannot understand why a number of members have such an obsession with getting a commitment from WorldCommunityGrid Admin on a completion date.
----------------------------------------Whenever this project is completed, we will just move onto a new project, still using the same computers to process work units for another worthy cause. Suffice to say, that we are doing a project of grand scale here and the satisfaction of knowing that I am committing my computer to research the possibility of finding cures for degenerative diseases, is big enough reward for me If it was that easy, I do not suppose we would all be here making such a compelling contribution to such a worthy cause in the first place Hey come on guys, give Admin a break, they are working overtime as it is, to address and fix problems that we encounter on a daily basis As well as update and improve the grid agent, produce a Linux version, a MAC version and respond to all our other requests It has been discussed on a number of occasions why they are not forthcoming with an answer Lets bury this one with what I believe is the reason (#1} WCG is only responsible for processing the work units (#2) The Institute of Systems Biology is responsible for publishing the results, not WCG (#3) The Work Units are supplied in batches to replenish the ones we have completed (#4) They have not been advised how many more batches there are to be expected (#5) When they are given information regarding a completion date they will advise us In conclusion please be patient until WorldCommunitygrid are in possession of the facts, to enable them to give a more informed opinion regarding a completion date Best Regards [Edit 1 times, last edit by Former Member at Jan 17, 2005 3:46:23 PM] |
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Former Member
Cruncher Joined: May 22, 2018 Post Count: 0 Status: Offline |
I think the fact that this one question has been asked so many times reflects a basic human need; we'd like to know that we're making progress and having an end-point helps us gauge how we're doing.
I know that when I'm faced with a task that takes a bit of time, driving long distances for example, it helps me to think of the drive in terms of quarters, thirds, and halves and then to mark off my progress as I go. Doing so helps keep me focused on the goal and keeps my spirit up. For this reason, I have already done an estimate of how long I think this task will take. I think the task will run for about a year. We've come 1/4 of the way, and we're picking up speed, so we will get there a little early. I'm sure my post will be followed by disclaimers from statisticians and other liars saying that I'm pondering the imponderable, but I'm going to create my own reality this time. No amount of facts can deter me. We'll be there soon. |
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Former Member
Cruncher Joined: May 22, 2018 Post Count: 0 Status: Offline |
Hi FilbertI agree, that we all like to visualise the end point to our progress in any new venture I hope that WCG can turn your inponderable into a ponderable for the benefit of all the members here very soon It would probably be the best news that has been posted in the forums since the project started There are no disclaimers coming as far as I know, they just genuinely do not know the answer However please hang in there for the good of the project untill we get the good news Best regards Graham |
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