Richard Feynman and The Connection Machine
longnow.org
longnow.org
The other point is probably to be working on an interesting problem. Nothing swarms geeks like an interesting problem.
As an aside, it's funny that Feynman didn't mind painting walls just because he was a Nobel winner. When I make it, I wish to keep the same attitude. Any help helps.
It's too bad that Thinking Machines didn't stay afloat. I've seen videos of evolutions virtual creatures by Karl Sims. http://www.genarts.com/karl/evolved-virtual-creatures.html
Books you must read: http://tinyurl.com/3dwx8z http://tinyurl.com/348yj7 http://tinyurl.com/3cl7vx