Introducing the Fractal University Canon

🚨⚠️ DANGEROUS IDEAS WITHIN ⚠️🚨

We put together the Fractal University Orientation Guide as an ode to our values and culture.

You can read the whole thing here. The most delicious section of the packet is the Fractal University Canon, which is a collection of inspiring blog posts about science, the thrill of the frontier, and the call to do great work. It starts on page 5.

I hope it inspires you to do great work.

a delightful canon makes for delightful reading

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A Summary of the Orientation Packet

If you don’t have time to peruse the PDF right now, here are some ideas I want to highlight.

1. Fractal University aims to nurture great students, teachers, researchers, and craftsmen; but how?

2. Each individual must cultivate their own vision; to help, we created this Orientation Guide, a shared Canon which all students and teachers read.

3. First, we establish an Etiquette:

   1. Take yourself and others seriously

   2. Be concrete; no bullshitting

   3. Collaborate joyfully and publicly.

4. Then, the Canon discusses core ideas, and from contradictory perspectives:

   1. Science cannot be gatekept. You can just do science right now.

   2. Good students, teachers, and scientists are: stupid, arrogant, lazy, carefree, rebellious, humorous, and enchanted.

   3. You can find the Frontiers of Knowledge as an auto-didact.

   4. You can do great research and great work, here is how.

Well, here it is.

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An Etiquette

It is well known that our social environments shape us. For this reason, we adopt social etiquette as a courtesy and as a collaborative tool for mutual benefit with those we respect. Etiquette is a way to say “this is an environment where ___”, so that you may be shaped by the effects of such an environment.

All good etiquette is explicit, so you can opt out if you don’t want to be subject.

In our case, Fractal University is an environment where:

1. We take ourselves and others seriously.

2. We speak concretely, without fluff.

3. We collaborate joyfully and publicly.

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A Canon

If Etiquette is a tool to design social environments, then a Canon is a tool to design intellectual environments. A Canon establishes a shared set of ideas and language that can always be used as a foundational reference for new ideas and conversations. Each subject has its own Canon (this is what Great Books curriculum is all about in the liberal arts, for instance), but the institution itself ought to have a Canon, too, much like the Constitution (e.g. The United States of America) has The Federalist Papers.

Our current canon is short (~80 pages) and I highly encourage you to just read it, so I’ve included one preview from each essay below to entice you.

1. An invitation to a secret society — Adam Mastroianni (link)

   In which it is argued that you can do better and more important science than the leading institutions from your bedroom, if only you took yourself seriously.

   

2. The Scientific Virtues — Slime Mold Time Mold (link)

   In which it is argued that great science requires stupidity, arrogance, laziness, carefreeness, rebellion, humor, and beauty.

   

   There is a virtue in stupidity.

3. How to Find the Frontiers of Knowledge — Samo Burja (link)

   To find great opportunities in your field of interest, seek communities of practice, mentors, and functional institutions. Avoid dysfunctional institutions.

   

   You didn’t have to be brilliant, you just had to pick your problem well

4. You and Your Research — Richard Hamming (link)

   A discussion of the differences between those who make significant contributions to their field and those who could have, but never got around to it.

   

   There are differences between those who do and those who might have done.

5. How to Do Great Work — Paul Graham (link)

   A guide on how to do great work, from someone who has clearly done it himself.

   

   There are patterns to great work — it would be wise to at least experiment with them for yourself!

6. Lunch with Alan Kay — Steve Krouse (& Alan Kay) (link)

   In which Alan Kay argues that autodidacts must study constantly, and in community, challenging their own perspectives if they are to do great work.

   

   “Reading a couple hundred books a year is the bare minimum” — so which are the social environments that will make this task seem fun and natural?

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We hope for Fractal University to be a social environment that builds on these ideas. One where people read hundreds of books a year, take dozens of classes a year, pursue their curiosities, do science, seek meaningful contributions to their field, and cultivate the scientific virtues.

At the end of the day, though, a culture is merely composed of individuals in relationship. The best we can do is bring our favorite ideas to each other’s attention and see what happens — we hope you contribute your favorite ideas to our attention, as well. Perhaps we’ll add them to the canon :)

I am excited to learn together. If you’re interested in joining us for Spring Semester either as a student or as a teacher, please let me know here. We’ll be announcing Spring Semester soon, so subscribe to this Substack if you want to be notified. If you don’t know what the heck I’m talking about, you can read more here.

— Andrew Rose :)