As others have pointed out there is a long anecdotal history of magnetic personalities getting hype and funding based on their empty promises. However, there ar

As others have pointed out there is a long anecdotal history of magnetic personalities getting hype and funding based on their empty promises. However, there are large counterexamples and this article clearly contains little technical criticism (another commenter links to a more balanced view). The Human Genome Project is cited as one such example: simultaneously not meeting the hyped goals whilst also being more successful than imagined in other ways. Perhaps what people are missing here is that the value may not be in simulating the brain but rather having the infrastructure on which to run simulations. This likely starts in parts and on a small scale but the infrastructure alone could be incredibly useful for generating new ideas and shortening feedback time.