The Gigablox! Project

• The problem you are trying to solve and/or the preferred state you are trying to achieve.
  Maximum advantage for a trimtab is obtained at the earliest application of its vectoring. For a human, the most important phase of development is early childhood. It is this stage where our life experiences most strongly guide us in our interactions with the world later in life. Under the assumption
  
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  that a universal coordinate system is not based on rectilinear, ninety-degree coordination, it does not make sense to have young life’s first play interactions concerning putting things together and taking them apart be merely with square blocks.
  
  There are numerous building block solutions for children over the age of five that are well suited to introducing concepts of alternate coordination. To the best of my knowledge, there is currently no such building block system that fulfills this need in the earliest years of toddler development, that is, between the ages of two and four. Rather than having a child relearn a new coordinate system after having been initially exposed to ninety-degree systems only, would it not be more advantageous in young life’s development to learn more than one coordinate method right from the start?
  
  The Gigablox! Project aims at introducing children as young as two years old to coordinate systems other than those presented by ninety- and forty-five-degree building block systems in a safe and fun manner. Humans are a problem-solving species. Coordinating that problem-solving capability with a more natural structural prototyping method brings about maximum advantage. The sooner children are exposed to coordinate systems that more closely follow Nature’s method of radiational divergence and gravitational convergence, the sooner we, as a species, will be able to say “Yes!” to the cosmic question, “Are humans a worthwhile to Universe invention?”
• Your solution and your plan to implement it.
  The building block system must have the following requirements:
  1) it must coordinate in a manner other than ninety and forty-five degrees,
  2) it must have a simple and intuitive interface,
  3) it must be safe for a child aged two years or older and,
  4) it must be fun to play with.
  
  All four of these requirements are met in the Gigablox! Project, which achieves these objectives through the use of specially designed plastic octahedrons and tetrahedrons.
  
  There are three different types of blocks in the Gigablox! system: one octahedron type and two tetrahedron types. The blocks join through a series of pegs and holes. The holes have tiny “fins” along the length of their cylindrical wall to facilitate connecting with a peg through the use of compression. The fin-and-peg method also makes it easier to pull blocks apart because a vacuum will not be formed. The edges and vertices of the octahedrons and tetrahedrons are rounded to prevent injury. The ABS plastic used has well-known handling characteristics, is tough, colorful, nontoxic and, if necessary, it can be recycled. As can be seen from the figures, the blocks can be combined in many ways, easily demonstrating natural structure.
  
  By connecting octahedrons with tetrahedrons, and tetrahedrons with other tetrahedrons, a wide variety of other polyhedra can be produced, not to mention random forms shaped by imagination. If mass produced, this system offers an inexpensive means of introducing innumerable children to a fascinating system of coordination. And, unlike numerous other educational toys on the market today, Gigablox! requires no batteries, no DVD players, to operate. All that is needed is a child’s natural sense of play.
• How you are going to finance it.
  There are four considerations for financing:
  1. Patent – to help make sure the building block sees the light of day
  2. Incorporation – a solid business plan will facilitate getting this block system to as many people as possible
  3. Venture capital – given the recent explosion of educational toys on the market, there are numerous VC’s that will more than likely contribute startup resources
  4. Product Revenue – ultimately, the group producing the building block system should seek to become self-reliant through continued sales of the initial product, and through other products brought about through innovation and imagination that are harmoniously aligned with the original product goals
• Who is going to do it.
  Myself, initially.
• Who will vouch for you and your plan.
  My two references can vouch for my plan. Both are commensurate independent thinkers in their own right, and I hold their ideas and opinions in high esteem. I have worked with Martin van der Weele on numerous creative projects involving music, and philosophical discussions with Jeff Ireland have helped me to refine my own personal belief system. I take from my interactions with them valuable insights which shall be used in the fulfillment of the Gigablox! Project.