massively distributed problem solving

a few days back I posted this on LinkedIn:

"Gregg Working on massively distributed problem solving, if anyone has any pointers..."

I clearly have some very smart contacts. I got some great responses. Its a bit tough to fit a decent question in 140 characters, so I thought I would explain a bit more...

In a nutshell, I am interested in the area between simple, repetitive tasks and discreet, complex problems (like open source software). I break it down this way:

• distributed computing architectures that support problem solving. 
• problem decomposition using machine and human logic 
• workflow systems that support parallel and hierarchical problem solving 
• motivation in large, social systems 
• characterization of participants (education, specialties) 

 there's probably way more to it, but that's pretty much what I am poking around at. There are some great examples in each...