Arcist

Foundation

EXISTENTIAL PROGRESSTHROUGH LIFELONG LEARNING

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Upcoming Events:

Text-based Computing with Linux

Date and Time:

(This event is being rescheduled.)
(Date and time TBD.)

Location:
Nashville Public Library | Edmondson Pike Branch
5501 Edmondson Pike
Nashville, TN 37211

For our first community meeting, we'll be diving into text-based computing with Linux. With concepts applicable to Linux on desktops and servers, MacOS, and now even Windows with the Linux Subsystem for Windows, we'll cover topics like navigating the terminal, more powerful text editing, data processing, version control and collaboration with git, and maybe even some simple scripting/programming. The Linux/Unix philosophy of computing by manipulating text can be surprisingly powerful. Come and learn something new or refresh some old skills!

(A laptop with terminal access is recommended to get the most out of this event. Linux and MacOS should be good out of the box. If you run Windows, follow the instructions here to install the Linux Subsystem for Windows.)

Our Mission

The Arcist Foundation is established to cultivate a community of learning and intellectual discourse beyond the span of the traditional academic system.

Our mission is to:

  • Support a community of lifelong learners.
  • Preserve a culture of curiosity and inquiry and an archive of its collective knowledge.
  • Advance society through a more educated populace.

To this end, Arcist facilitates regular meetings where members can teach and learn from each other, access archived educational resources, and remain exposed to a diverse academic environment.

Beyond Academia

Learning should be a lifelong endeavour. It needs to go beyond traditional academia, both in breadth and duration.

Our current education system excels at producing workers with expertise in their field to funnel into the job market. As students progress, each higher level requires more and more specialization. While this specialization is key to technological advancement, a healthy economy, and societal progress as a whole, we also lose some of the curiosity that comes from exposure to a larger diversity of topics.

Furthermore, when formal education ends, there is often little incentive or ability to continue learning in topics not directly related to a career. While there are abundant resources for continuing education, they are often self-driven, solitary activities that can lead to increased isolation for those devoting time to them. We need communities built around lifelong learning, where everyone involved can find a sense of belonging based on a passion for curiosity.

The Big Problems

Unfortunately, the most supportive and engaging communities can also be those least devoted to logic and inquiry, leading to a narrow worldview, lack of a growth mindset, distrust of experts, and susceptibility to the influence of propaganda and disinformation.

The most formidable and existential threats to our survival as a species are generally attributable to a general lack of education diversity and big picture thinking in the populace. Efforts to counter fascism, global climate change, biodiversity collapse, pandemics, discrimination, or extreme poverty are continually set back by a culture too dismissive of scientific consensus and too quick to succumb to tribalism.

The most effective and efficient long-term strategy for addressing the big problems of humanity is to foster a culture of lifelong, multidisciplinary learning. Regardless of education, background, or occupation, anyone can become a more informed decision maker through increased exposure to a diverse academic environment if built on a foundation of logic and scientific inquiry.