In the early 1990s, a group of researchers helped pioneer an inventive computational model known as distributed computing. In short, it allowed projects that were hampered by lack of computational power, time, and resources to invite public participation in the processing of data. One notable enterprise was the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. The data gathering capability of the National Science Foundation’s Arecibo Observatory radio telescope in Puerto Rico exceeded available computing power and created a backlog of unprocessed information.

What if the project could enlist t...