# Key Points from IRC Log

• A discussion contrasted two approaches to neural computing hardware: Stanford Neurogrid's "simulate neurons in silicon" versus implementing artificial neural networks "close to the metal" (directly in hardware).

• Movidius Myriad 2 Vision Processing Unit was mentioned as a 1.2W USB stick called "Fathom" designed for mobile neural network tasks, though it was noted it's not yet widely available.

• The synthetic human genome project (HGP-write) draft timeline was shared, with discussion about their goal of achieving a 1,000x reduction in DNA synthesis costs, which would still only bring bacterial genome synthesis down to $40k/genome.

• Ward Cunningham's redesign of the C2 wiki to use JavaScript was criticized for making the site less accessible and harder to scrape, though he implemented it to reduce server load from continuous scraping.

• There was a brief discussion about Python's asyncio implementation in versions 3.5/3.6, referencing an article expressing confusion about the design.

• A comment about cargo cults provided cultural context beyond the programming metaphor, describing how natives interpreted white visitors as "ghosts returning at the end of time with gifts," leading them to abandon normal societal rules.