Nicholas Tickle

Nicholas Tickle

Look around… All of us. In this together. None of us alone can achieve the synthesis required for human progress. We are all great… but only when we’re together

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About me

Engineer in London. Founder and Developer at Project Machine. Learning software development and AI. Previously focused on design and project management in structural engineering working on commercial and transportation infrastructure. Most notably working on HS2 for a number of years.

I created this site to share the projects I am working on, share lessons learned, publish essays, and share my views on engineering, history, and science. The site shows current and past projects together with the insights I have gained. There is also a reading list which shows all the notable books I have read with some commentary for each.

Current Project

Currently working on idea called Project Machine. Project Machine is the first planning tool that focuses on stored history to help engineers estimate task durations.

Budget overruns and missed deadlines are a constant problem in projects. The productivity software sector is a $70 billion dollar industry. Yet more than 65% of projects exceed their initial budget with deadlines being missed 50% of the time. So where are we going wrong? Almost all the “lessons learned” data needed to solve this problem is stored in people’s memory. How do we get that data? Well AI is key. But so is having a user interface that’s built for planning and executing with AI.

I am currently looking for a co-founder to help build out this idea. I know web development and I’m building the MVP myself. But looking for someone more technical to join me.

Watch me build – https://project-machine.vercel.app/

YouTube Pitch Video – Nicholas Tickle and the Project Machine

You can Subscribe to my Substack if you wish to receive email updates. If you want to join me please use the contact details below.

Past Projects

Here’s a curated list of projects I’ve fully committed to. Click each for details and lessons learned.

  • High Speed Rail 2 (HS2) (2022 – 2025) – Design management of the viaduct structures for the sublot 4 section of the HS2 railway development in the UK.
  • Immigration to the UK from South Africa (2021) – Documented my immigration experience. Insights may be useful to others.
  • Everbox (2021) – An idea to reduce single use plastic, starting with restaurant takeaway containers. Developed a deposit return scheme with reusable containers.
  • Everfarm (2020) – Built a compact at-home vertical farm for fresh leafy greens and vegetables.
  • Health and Fitness (2012 – Present) – A collection of endurance events completed. Each treated as a project. Insights gained on fitness and endurance.
  • Bridge Design (2017 – 2021) – Learned bridge design. Here are some details on some of the structures and a comprehensive list of lessons learned.
  • Automated Culvert Design (2018) – Collaborated to automate major concrete box culvert design. A major culvert is a large drainage structure for roads and railway lines. Design/drafting time was reduced from three weeks to one day.
  • Alice Lane Phase 3 (2016 – 2017) – Served as a Site Engineer for a contractor on a large commercial development in Sandton, South Africa.
  • Civil Engineering Degree (2012 – 2015) – Earned a Civil Engineering degree at the University of Pretoria, South Africa.
  • Rowing Coxswain for One Year (2010 – 2011) – An attempt in my final year of schooling to become the school’s first team rowing cox having some big successes and failures along the way.
  • ‘Allo ‘Allo! Theatre Play (2011) – Wrote and starred in a high school theatre production based on the UK television series ‘Allo ‘Allo!. This was a school competition that my team won. Having never acted before, writing the play and holding the leading role created many lessons learned.
  • Drumming (2005 – Present) – Learned to play a full drum kit. Performed for crowds. Played the snare drum for a school pipe band. Gained insights on mastering a musical instrument.

Essays

  •  Coming soon

Reading list

Here is my reading list. Have added some commentary against each book. Have also added some thoughts on how to approach reading. 

Feedback

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Contact

Recommended

  • Fall of Civilizations – Documentaries about the collapse of civilizations throughout history. Created by Paul Cooper.
  • Human Progress – An organization dedicated to providing evidence of human progress and showing that this is the best time to be alive.
  • The People Profiles – Long form documentaries on the lives of the most famous and infamous people in history. With a strong emphasis on evidence available and an attempt at impartiality.
  • The Royal Institution – Full length talks from the world’s leading scientists.
  • Brett Hall – Do Not Destroy The Means Of Error Correction.
  • Nina Jablonski – The Evolution and Meanings of Human Skin Color.
  • David Goggins – Joe Rogan Experience #1080.
  • Naval Ravikant – How to get rich without getting lucky.
  • Carl Sagan – Cosmos: A Personal Voyage (Internet Archive).
  • Neil deGrasse Tyson – We are made of stardust.
  • The Waking Up App by Sam Harris.