Hi Tyler, this is something that can significantly strengthen EA community. I think the idea is excellent as demonstrated by history of different groups and networks you named and also for example the Inklings, the Bloomsbury Group and Fabian Society. I also have a concept that could complement it, I'll send you details for discussion by DM.
Fractal is launching a new program to help local networks turn their group chats and meetups into a walkable campus—places that brings together collaboration and classes with co-living and shared gathering spaces.
We're inspired by the history of scenius: tight networks of collaborators which have produced innovations and institutions that we now take for granted (eg the Founding Fathers, Bell Labs, YCombinator, Renaissance Florence, etc). Scenius tends to blossom under particular conditions that we suspect are replicable. Namely: close proximity and a culture of lively collaboration. Our program is designed to replicate these conditions. The win condition would be that sceniuses pop up all over the world, run by collectives that are working on high-impact projects.
We're also excited by the idea that campuses can integrate the work life of ambitious people with a "village" lifestyle that makes it easier to take care of kids and see friends more often.*
Right now there's one EA group working on one of these with us in Switzerland, and we'd love to work with more. If you’re part of an EA group that wants to root more deeply in place (housing, third spaces, residencies, etc), then we invite you to apply.
*A personal note: A bit part of the motivation for this project comes from my old "hardcore EA" days as Director of Growth at CEA. While I was cofounding EA Global, seeding college groups, and so on, I would find myself burning out from not spending enough time with friends, family, and recreational activities. (I wrote about this in a 2022 essay on this forum.) My experience doing nearly as much work in Fractal NYC is that participating in a campus-like thing is a much more sustainable way of life. It incorporates a lot of the good things in life that my previous solo grindset lifestyle didn't!
This is the third in a sequence of posts taken from my recent report: Why Did Environmentalism Become Partisan?
Summary
Rising partisanship did not make environmentalism more popular or politically effective. Instead, it saw flat or falling overall public opinion, fewer major legislative achievements, and fluctuating executive actions.
Public Opinion...
I think right now EAs might be making a significant mistake by paying insufficient attention to the political realm. As EAs we tend to figure out what’s most impactful for us to work on and focus hard. That’s great! But there are various actions that are ‘non-delegatable’ - the extent to which an individual can do the action is limited (like voting, going to a protest, making hard money contributions to particular campaigns). It might be useful if we were all more in the habit of doing variou...
This post presents the executive summary from Giving What We Can’s impact evaluation for 2025. At the end of this post we share links to more information, including the full report and...
Look at that cute little baby! <3