I wrote a blog post about this topic recently. My argument is that it has already happened.

https://www.andycarnevale.com/blog/one-person-billion-dollar...

Can you expand on what you mean here? A Google search for "make piece manufacturing" returns to this post.

You might also be interested in DARPA's similar challenge: http://www.shredderchallenge.com/

Or for a similar, easier task, problem 3 "life" from this year's FARIO: http://orac.amt.edu.au/fario/11/problems_en.pdf

Here's case 8 to give you an idea: http://i.imgur.com/1fFzO.png :P

Test data here: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/76985/life-all-linux.zip

I'm perplexed by your inclusion of Argentina. I'm aware that most people from Argentina can trace their ancestry to various corners of Europe, but I wasn't aware that Argentina was more innovative than China or India.

Amazon

I don't think Palo Alto is the best place to do this if that is your goal.

true there are far better places than Palo Alto, but comparitively, if you want to get outside of the tech community, it is still better than here.

Cincinnati has had a similar problem with some plots of land on the river, between the stadiums. It laid fallow for longer than I've been alive. Just this year ground was finally broke.

Ants have done the same. http://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/clvea/ants/c0thznv

I will second this recommendation. I watch that video every time I need a motivation to keep working hard. I've never been much of a Starcraft player, but the way he explains his passion for the game and the dedication he has put into developing his skills is amazingly inspiring to me. Most of the points he makes about training for Starcraft can be applied to any other field.