Aeon in Motion
- Work on developing a more complete playbook for sourcing our ideal scientist investees is progressing. We continue to interview scientists, tech-transfer professionals, and university administrators to gain critical insights. We're always looking for introductions!
- A workstream has just begun to better identify the critical [skill x passion] gaps within the Project Aeon team. While we've come a long way, we are still understaffed relative to our ambitions. If you know someone who might contribute some of their valuable time and skills to Aeon, let us know!
- User testing and a potential infrastructure build for a virtual Community of Practice has been highlighted as a key new workstream. If you've set up one of these (or even been a participant) and have feedback to share, please reach out!
From the Roundtable
This week we discussed the table read: "Convening a Community of Practice"—including whether such a line of effort should be undertaken, at what priority level, and what analogs can be used to guide the way, among other related topics. Some highlights of the conversation include:
- There was a general consensus that, over the long term, convening (and maintaining) a community of practice ("CoP") is critical to the success of Project Aeon.
- We debated whether such a community is immediately necessary, and, if so, what would the short-term objectives be ("What does success look like?"). The debate was inconclusive, but there was some discussion about the potential validation impact this might have for funders. The Team feels pressure to get started on this sooner rather than later.
- The merits and challenges of top down versus bottom up approaches to building a community of practice were discussed, including the question: "If both are necessary, which comes first?"
- The conversation turned to questions of what infrastructure is necessary to host a CoP, along with a takeaway task of researching more about viable community hosting platforms (e.g., Slack? Signal? Others?)
- We concluded that, among other things, enhanced outbound community and relationship building is a critical near-term effort.
The Idea Garden
The New Control Society — The New Atlantis
We've all heard the term "protocol," but often in passing, and perhaps in frustration when dealing with a piece of internet-connected hardware. A new community of thinkers, though, believe there is much more to the word—that Protocols are usurping older, more traditional means of asserting power, influence and control, at nearly all levels of aggregation. This piece is a good first introduction to some of the embedded concepts. We wonder: what protocols exist in science that need to be reevaluated? Who benefits most from the existing protocols, and are the incentives optimal? (Much more on Protocols can be found here.)
Meaning: why showing work matters has such an impact - Eat Sleep Work Repeat
The pillars of meaningful work are (i) contribution (ii) community and (iii) challenge, as this podcast (audio and transcript here) makes clear. While the first and third items come as no surprise to those familiar with the literature, the second is 'new.' According to the discussion participants, the importance of managers and leaders taking an active role in creating connection and community in the workplace/work realm cannot be understated.
Inside arXiv—the Most Transformative Platform in All of Science | WIRED
Speaking of science communities, here is a long read on arXiv, its founder, and its transformational impact on science. While it hints at, instead of describes, how this community was built, this read is even more fascinating if you've been primed by the Protocolism article above.
Trade deficits do not make a country poorer - by Noah Smith
And because, well, it feels compulsory, here is a short primer on trade deficits by Noah Smith.
Project Aeon: A Glance of the Future (A Short Story) | Notion
AI has been a 'member' of the Aeon team since the beginning, contributing to a variety of research and tasks. This week, it wrote us a short story set in the not-too-distant future about Aeon and its impact. We found it fun and inspiring, and we thought you might, too. It's attached here if you're interested.
Thanks for reading.
For all people, all species, and our planet,
Project Aeon
PS: What is Project Aeon? Project Aeon advances critical scientific missions by funding paradigm-shifting research overlooked by today’s short-term, risk-averse system. We exist to restore the freedom and patience that once fueled discoveries by Darwin, Curie, and Planck. Instead of rewarding only what's fast and familiar, we back bold, long-horizon inquiry with deep belief. We marry capital stewardship, equitable talent discovery, and community-building to unlock breakthroughs that benefit all people, all species, and the planet.