Changing The World

was the steam engine really that difficult of a thing to make? how difficult an idea to come up with?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45ZwQRdUxsI how for example this steam engine worked? and why the steam engine was not invented earlier? as it is simple concept? much like boiling water on the stove? what else allowed the locomotive to become invented? why it wasnt invented earlier also? HOW CHANGED THE WORLD THIS INVENTION? how different from the gasoline engine?

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What if I simply can't choose a career?
I'm so far interested in math and science and I care about the world so much that I can't make a decision. I want to better the world. I want to better humanity. But I don't know exactly how I'm going to do that. An inventor doesn't know if they will actually invent something until they do so. I need to choose a field of science/math to study/major in, but it's impossible to know which field I'll be successful in. I'm equally interested in all science and math. I don't want to be an oompa loompa. I want to invent the math/science that will be used by humanity in the future. The reason being is that I'm good at it. I can be an engineer. I can be an accountant. But why settle with that when I can do better? I'm talking about cures for cancer, HIV, reverse global warming, quantum computers, alternate fuel sources, abiogenesis, the complete human genome, landing men on Mars, economics that will change the world, and many crazy ideas never thought possible. I'm 17, a senior in high school, and I'm pushed to choose a career and college now. Am I expected to choose a random career? I also look up to the polymaths of the old times. Though, I realize our society is highly specialized I still want to learn all there is to learn and discover all there is to discover in math and science. What do you recommend I do? Have you ever been in a similar situation?

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I need some advice on creating the fundamentals of my own religion?
I've wanted to create my own religion for a while. I'm taking an introduction to eastern religion class, and as an extra credit assignment, I chose to do a 10 minute speech on the fundamentals of my religion. Here are some notes I took reading the chapter on "basic religions". Please give me your opinions of my notes and tell me any fundamentals that I missed. Any help will be appreciated. Here is what I have so far.... Notes on algorithmism Religion book Chapter 1 Page 16 Book - Thus, Bishop Codrington studied the Melanesian people during the nineteenth century and reported their awareness of the unseen force called mana. My religion ? Instead of mana we have respect. Just like mana it can be gained or lost, and you must work to gain it. As for the afterlife we have history. Prophets are teachers of science and the works of the gods. Page 17 Book - The studet of religion like the student of language, must accept the fact that there are some aspects of the orgins of the subject that, in all likelihood, we cannot know. My religion ? there are aspects of life that we cannot know, yet. An example would be macroevolution, or if theories like the big bang theory can be considered as ?correct? Page 22 Book - Another aspect of magic frequently found in basic religions is the fetish. A fetish is any object used to control nature in a magical fashion. My religion ? Science is a fetish in my religion, it's used to change ?nature? in a ?magical fashion?. We worship those who change the world though their dedication and work in the fields of science. Page 24 Book - Taboo. In the scheme of life in many basic societies, certain actions must be avoided, lest the spirit would release harmful effects on the person or group; these acts are kown by the Polynsaiion word tabu or tapu. Following excepts are copied from http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/hacker-howto.html#believe2 My religion 2. No problem should ever have to be solved twice. Creative brains are a valuable, limited resource. They shouldn't be wasted on re-inventing the wheel when there are so many fascinating new problems waiting out there. To behave like a hacker, you have to believe that the thinking time of other hackers is precious â?? so much so that it's almost a moral duty for you to share information, solve problems and then give the solutions away just so other hackers can solve new problems instead of having to perpetually re-address old ones. Note, however, that "No problem should ever have to be solved twice." does not imply that you have to consider all existing solutions sacred, or that there is only one right solution to any given problem. Often, we learn a lot about the problem that we didn't know before by studying the first cut at a solution. It's OK, and often necessary, to decide that we can do better. What's not OK is artificial technical, legal, or institutional barriers (like closed-source code) that prevent a good solution from being re-used and force people to re-invent wheels. (You don't have to believe that you're obligated to give all your creative product away, though the hackers that do are the ones that get most respect from other hackers. It's consistent with hacker values to sell enough of it to keep you in food and rent and computers. It's fine to use your hacking skills to support a family or even get rich, as long as you don't forget your loyalty to your art and your fellow hackers while doing it.) 3. Boredom and drudgery are evil. Hackers (and creative people in general) should never be bored or have to drudge at stupid repetitive work, because when this happens it means they aren't doing what only they can do â?? solve new problems. This wastefulness hurts everybody. Therefore boredom and drudgery are not just unpleasant but actually evil. To behave like a hacker, you have to believe this enough to want to automate away the boring bits as much as possible, not just for yourself but for everybody else (especially other hackers). (There is one apparent exception to this. Hackers will sometimes do things that may seem repetitive or boring to an observer as a mind-clearing exercise, or in order to acquire a skill or have some particular kind of experience you can't have otherwise. But this is by choice â?? nobody who can think should ever be forced into a situation that bores them.) 5. Attitude is no substitute for competence. To be a hacker, you have to develop some of these attitudes. But copping an attitude alone won't make you a hacker, any more than it will make you a champion athlete or a rock star. Becoming a hacker will take intelligence, practice, dedication, and hard work. Therefore, you have to learn to distrust attitude and respect competence of every kind. Hackers won't let posers waste their time, but they worship competence â?? especially competence at hacking, but competence at anything is valued. Competence at demanding skills that few can master is especially good, and competence at demanding skills that involve mental acuteness, craft, and concentration is best. If you revere competence, you'll enjoy developing it in yourself â?? the hard work and dedication will become a kind of intense play rather than drudgery. That attitude is vital to becoming a hacker. Book ? another universal practice among basic societies is the establishment of certain rituals at key transitional points in the lie of the individual. These rituals are called rites of passage. My religion- Rites of passage can be considered achievements of one's enlightenment. Perhaps graduating from high school or college. Book - Ancestor Veneration ? One final characte characteristic of basic religions is the veneration or worship of deceased members of the family. My religion ? We worship the fallen gods of science. The gods are people like Richard Stallman, Linus Torvalds, Steve Wozniak, Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchiem, Brian Kernighan, Edsger Dijkstra, Nikola Tesla, Issac Netwon, Gottfried Leibniz, Albert Einstein, ect.

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