Aeon in Motion
The theme of this issue is Tangibility. A handful of recent conversations have highlighted for us the fact that the pursuit of unknown unknowns in science is a relatively obscure corner of the scientific universe. In an ecosystem that regularly deploys $500B+ in investment capital, funding for this type of work is a tiny drop in the bucket, but an important one nonetheless. A side effect of this is that it can be hard to get people excited about something that is itself so... fuzzy-edged.
We've also received feedback that Project Aeon suffers from some of the same "fuzzy-edgedness," especially when it comes to how people can get involved and support the project. Thus, the task to make the intangible tangible is critical both to expanding our community and to accomplishing our goals. Here are a handful of things we are doing to advance progress in that direction:
- We've launched the Community Pledge we mentioned in our last newsletter. You can find it here. If you care about open-ended, long-term exploratory science, you can signal your support by signing the Pledge today.
- We're working with the highly regarded lawyers at RPCK Law to design from the ground up a new type of science-funding institution with long-termism, open-ended exploration and mission-alignment in its very DNA.
- We've signed up to the RelSci platform to find and contact new potential members of the Community. Your support will be critical to maximizing the impact of this effort, so stay tuned for more on this front!
- We're launching a search for the role of Founding Integrator: This person will be the sinew between vision and execution, responsible for day-to-day operations and success of our platform. If you know someone who excels at this "in-between" altitude and who isn't afraid of designing and building foundational systems, please let us know!
The Idea Garden
What Can a Cell Remember? | Quanta Magazine
We often talk about science that goes against the grain. Pursued by those who aren't afraid to challenge the prevailing ideas and paradigms in their field, these scientists hope to unlock doors to new realms littered with untapped potential. But what does that look like? We loved this article by Claire Evans that covers a group of scientists who are digging up and reevaluating 100-year-old research that was discredited at the time for challenging dominant views. Methods aside, the topic is fascinating. It asks: Where does memory reside? In just the brain, or also in our very cells?
How Common is Multiple Invention? - by Brian Potter
As far back (at least) as ancient Greece or Baghdad, philosophers have been making claims about the source of scientific discovery, hoping to find the one input leading to greater output. But what if discovery represents more of a "its time has come" phenomenon than a single genius (or team) pulling discovery from the future to the present? Brian Potter of Construction Physics thinks the idea of multiple invention might hold a clue to this age-old conundrum.
Kenneth Stanley on the Disrupt…–The Orthogonal Bet – Apple Podcasts
Is "good" science closed-ended (i.e., the search for a known unknown), or open-ended (i.e., the loosely directed exploration of unknown unknowns)? We'd argue both are critical to the advancement of the scientific enterprise. Opinions aside, Kenneth Stanley is an expert of open-endedness and a friend of Project Aeon. If you are new to his ideas, and interested in open-endedness and why it matters, this podcast is an excellent entry point.
How Do Venture Capitalists Make Decisions?
In each newsletter, we include one academic paper that has helped inform our thinking. While basic research and startups represent, in many ways, two very different realms, there are also important similarities. For example, both exhibit a power-law distribution of outcomes and, ex ante, the chance of any one project succeeding is very low. Some venture capitalists have thrived in this environment while others have failed, and it is of great interest to us to find out why—with this seminal paper (co-authored by one of our former professors!) holding some clues.