cadCAD Education Study Group
Proposal Information
Proposal Description:
An accurate and detailed description of what you are proposing
This is a proposal for funding the coordination of weekly cadCAD study sessions for the TEC community lead by Peter (@heater) and Blair (@BlairV) to help guide the community of new and aspiring Token Engineers through the cadCAD education content. We are going to compile the existing cadCAD learning materials and weave our way through the materials together. The mini-curriculum examples in this proposal are heavily influenced by the āhow-to-cadcadā post in MetaGame https://forum.metagame.wtf/t/how-to-cadcad/46/12. Below are more details on what participants can expect from attending the course, but weekly content is subject to change depending on the interests, skill-level, and goals of regular attendees!
1. cadCAD bootcamp (~4 weeks)
- Description: We hand hold newbies and non-techies as they experience the engineering design process, systems thinking, and even Python for the first time
- Structure: A condensed format of 1 hr per week for ~4 weeks. Following the 7 modules + capstone project. We will use this as a study group to answer questions and help people get unstuck with their python installations. Course discussions will be on topics covered in the weekly module
- Final product: Make sure everyone leaves the series with a cadCAD edu bootcamp certificate.
2. Run the Marbles and Robots tutorial (~2 weeks)
- Description: We will work through the robots and marbles tutorials on the cadCAD github:
https://github.com/cadCAD-org/demos/tree/master/tutorials/robots_and_marbles - Structure: 1-2 Lab sessions where we all work through the marbles and robots tutorials on github
- Final product: We complete the tutorial series as a group
3. A week of reading and quiet contemplation (~1 week)
- Description: Buddy up its a bookclub week! We will split into small groups of 2-3 and and choose to read one of the following heady pieces of research and share our findings with the group. (Foundations of Crypto economic systems 1, The Essence of Systems Engineering 1, Economic Games as Estimators - source: mzargham https://forum.metagame.wtf/t/how-to-cadcad/46/6)
- Structure: Small groups pick their reading material and present it to the rest of the group the next week.
- Final product: Hopefully we all walk away wiser and more informed of the wider context of system design.
4. Fork and modify and existing model (~2 weeks)
- Description: ok, we are just about ready to take the training wheels off, but first we should get our hands dirty with some code from existing models. Again, splitting into smaller groups or pairs, we will fork existing models and modify them for different scenarios. Sharing your work at the final session will be encouraged and celebrated.
- Structure: Small groups work on the models and share them in our session.
- Final product: Real cadCAD models! They are loaner models, learn from them and attribute graciously.
Fork friendly models:
- Uniswap https://github.com/sourcecred/research/blob/master/experiments/dynamicCred.ipynb
- Any of https://github.com/BlockScience/cadCAD-Tutorials/tree/master/02 Reference Models
5. Do the thing: create your own cadCAD model (~2 weeksā¦a lifetime)
- Description: We will create a commons space to support each other in creating our own cadCAD models. From birds to bees to currencies, anything is on the table.
- Structure: A support space to exchange ideas or ask questions. We will also present our projects at the end of the module.
- Final Product: Real cadCAD models! Hopefully for your new regenerative planet saving cooperativeā¦but any fantasy scenarios are welcome as well.
Bonus material - Intermediate cadCAD Hacks
- Description: We will work with the cadCAD Edu team to host Q&A sessions with instructors from their team to go through the material and make recordings freely available online. These will be sprinkled in as they stand on their own.
- Structure: This will be a Q&A format where we bring in a member of the cadCAD edu team and ask them questions about the model they are presenting. We will also encourage participants to code along with the team.
- Final Product: Deliverables include recordings of the event as well as the hour of time devoted to the session and of course the knowledge we all get from sharing this time together.
Proposal Details:
Rationale for why this proposal exists and should matter to TEC holders, the Token Engineering community, and/or DAO ecosystem. What value will this provide for the TE community, commons and ecosystem?
One of the biggest bottle-necks to growing the Token Engineering ecosystem is the limited supply of Token Engineers. The space today has a small but growing number of individuals who are working their butts off to fill the Token Engineering demands of the bull market and develop the foundational TE knowledge / tools for future TEs. But, to truly fill the demand for TE services we just need to train more Token Engineers!
Well ok great, letās get more! So, what exactly makes a Token Engineer you might ask? Well a common perception is that Token Engineers are super human polymaths aka the cryptoeconomic flower re-incarnated in human form. While this would be super cool to see ( new superhero idea ?? dope merch opportunity ??) Itās unfortunately quite a rare occurrence. In reality, a Token Engineer is NOT a single person, but a coordinated group from different backgrounds that TOGETHER complete the crypto economic flower.
The relevant message here is that coordination is key, and in order to coordinate, we need a shared common language across the Token Engineering discipline. Without this common language, effective coordination is impossible, and the TE super hero cannot exist. The common language message was emphasized during the Token Engineering Academyās Ecosystem Value Flows course and is ultimately our core motivation behind leading these sessions.
A core piece of the Token Engineering stack is cadCAD. This software is used for encoding Generalized Dynamical Systems (GDS), aka blockchain ecosystems, and has already proven as an essential tool for partitioners in the space. Expanding the cadCAD footprint is a piece of the larger mission to spread a common language across the Token Engineering field. The study group and courses described in this proposal will help beginner Token Engineers acquire the foundational skills needed to be effective in the industry. This includes Python for analysis and visualization, fundamentals of the engineering design process, systems thinking, model simulation techniques, and much more.
In addition to leading new Token Engineers through educational content, we will work collaboratively as a group to consolidate FAQs, common issues, and bugs found along learning journey. this content / resource is an essential building block that will benefit future on-boarding Token Engineers!
Expected duration or delivery date:
Thanks to the blessings of an incredibly talented and generous Education team within the cadCAD community, the core content that will be learned via these sessions has already been developed or is in the works, and ready to be leveraged by sessions like these to spread the love & learn! a.k.a these study groups will basically start ASAP, even while the proposal is up for review / voting!
How does this help Token Engineers and benefit the Token Engineering community?
At the community level, value is added in two ways:
- Creating a common language - at least, one of many steps needed in this direction!
- Cumulation of resources - FAQs, common bugs / issues will be invaluable for creating future TE onboarding processes
At the individual level, these education sessions are a space for newbies take their first steps into the world of Token Engineering
- Knowledge sharing - Peer learning is magical, and no question is too beginner
- Networking - Finding accountabilibuddies (cool new word!) to harness the power of peer learning
- Fighting āimposter syndromeā - The intimidation factor of the cryptoeconomic flower is REAL and we want to help people cope
Team Information
Peter (@Heater )
BlairV (@BlairV )
Skills and previous experience in related or similar work:
We have actually already been doing this!! For 7 weeks from April 2nd to May 7th 2021, we organized and ran the first cadCAD study group series out of the TEC #Labs channel.
Funding Information
Amount of tokens requested:
We aim to run our first cohort of participants through a mix of the aforementioned curriculums over approx. 8 weeks. With a commitment from each of us of 3 hrs per-week. At a rate of ~30 DAI / hour, we would request a total of ~1.5k.
Ethereum address where funds shall be transferred:
Can provide closer to voting!
More detailed description of how funds will be handled and used:
To summarize, this compensation is for the time spent preparing material, creating and maintaining course content (like FAQs), and leading the weekly sessions with great guts and gusto!!
Hadnāt seen that DACADE proposal but will definitely have a look!