“The MacArthur Fellows Program or MacArthur Fellowship (nicknamed the Genius Award) is an award given by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation each year to typically 20 to 40 United States citizens or residents, of any age and working in any field, who “show exceptional merit and promise for continued and enhanced creative work.”

According to the Foundation’s website, ‘the fellowship is not a reward for past accomplishment, but rather an investment in a person’s originality, insight, and potential.’ The current amount of the award is $500,000, paid as quarterly installments over five years. As of 2007[update], there have been 756 recipients who have received a total of more than $350 million.

The Fellowship has no application. People are nominated anonymously by a body of nominators who submit recommendations to a small selection committee of about a dozen people, also anonymous. The committee then reviews every nominee and passes along their recommendations to the President and the board of directors. Most new MacArthur Fellows first learn that they have even been considered when they receive the congratulatory phone call.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacArthur_Fellows_Program





If I were awarded a grant from the MacArthur Fellows Program I would use the money to build a self-sufficient, eco-friendly secular monastery where geniuses could go to focus on their creative work without being distracted by the stresses of daily life.

I’ll give a short explanation of the philosophy behind the monastery and then I’ll give a short explanation of the construction of the facility.

PHILOSOPHY OF THE SECULAR MONASTERY

Anyone of any cultural, religious, academic or philosophical background could come and stay for as long as they need to. There are only 2 stipulations:

1. They must submit an application explaining what they want to work on and why it will benefit the world. The applications will be subject to approval to ensure that the monastery only accepts those “who “show exceptional merit and promise for continued and enhanced creative work.”

2. Applicants under the age of 18 will require parental consent and will not be allowed to stay at the monastery if it were to cause them to be absent from school.

The rules of the monastery will be as limited as possible. Some basic premises will be:

1. No illegal drugs will be allowed in the monastery.

2. There are no mandatory rituals or ceremonies to perform or attend (though occupants will be free to practice whatever religious rituals or ceremonies they choose).

3. Occupants will be required to complete a short list of chores each day to ensure the operation of the monastery.

4. Wearing black clothing will signify that you do not wish to be spoken to unless you initiate conversation

5. Occupants can be asked to leave at any time if management feels they are a threat to other occupants, are disrupting the work of other occupants or are not producing any creative work.

6. The monastery will not claim any rights over the creative work produced by the occupants during their stay.

7. Space permitting, casual visitors will be able to stay in the facility for limited amounts of time but will either be required to pay room and board or perform chores like the permanent occupants.

CONSTRUCTION OF THE FACILITY

The facility will be located in an isolated rural area. This will drastically reduce the cost of land as well as adding to the peacefulness of the atmosphere.

All of the buildings will be built to Earthship construction standards. This will reduce construction costs, eliminate utility bills and stand as an example to the feasibility of environmentally friendly community housing. The design of every building will be built to the highest standards of efficiency, sustainability and environmental awareness.

The facility will consist of several separated buildings. There will be an administrative office, a multi-use hall and a dormitory. Each occupant will have their own room, but bathroom, kitchen, laundry and all other facilities will be communal. The dorms will be comfortable but plain. No money will be wasted on unnecessary luxuries.

The monastery will also have several large greenhouses, a pond, an orchard and a ranch area for small animals (if possible). These will be constructed one at a time, finance permitting. Once fully constructed, the monastery should be completely self-sufficient. This will allow the occupants to live without finances. It will reduce the risk of the business model from going bankrupt and allow for any donations to be used towards building more monasteries. Additional monasteries can be built in any country and need not be administratively associated with any other monasteries. In fact, once the building plans, blue prints and other design work have been completed they will be made public for anyone to copy and use freely.

Construction will likely be completed by individuals who apply to stay at the completed monastery. This way they can work for room and board instead of money. I might also be able to attract volunteers to help with the first building or two. During initial construction stages the workers will stay in tents and camper vans on site. This would include me as well. Workers involved in the construction will be given up to a 1 year waiver to stay at the monastery without submitting an application for creative work. This allowance is subject to change until a worker has signed a legal agreement stating their terms and conditions. Any staff needed to perform full time work at the monastery will be allowed to stay at the monastery without submitting an application for creative work.

WHY THE MACARTHUR FOUNDATION SHOULD FUND THIS PROJECT

This idea will the use the Fellowship funds to directly support other geniuses. Initially it will help (an estimated) 20 geniuses. This would save $10,000,000 if each genius were given $500,000 individually. If the monastery accommodates 20 geniuses every 5 years for 50 years the MacArthur Foundation would see a $100,000,000 return on the initial $500,000 investment. Of course, as long as the monastery stays open this number will continue to grow.

If the monastery can turn a profit by accepting donations, renting rooms to casual visitors or even producing merchandise it will be able to build more monasteries in any part of the world. This will allow even more geniuses of all nationalities to fulfill their potential. Monasteries opened in impoverished areas will be able to share their designs for sustainable architecture with surrounding villages, and any monastery could potentially offer classes on whatever fields of knowledge the current occupants specialize in. The return on investment is virtually limitless.

PERSONAL CREATIVE WORK

While I haven’t been published yet I have been blogging for the past 5 years. Before that I was just writing essays in my free time. All of my essays revolve around analyzing the world we live in and trying to make sense of it all in a systematic, logical and as empirically valid (when applicable) way. Topics include but are not limited toreligion, philosophy, logic, literature, government,economics, dating, technology, sexuality, women’s rights,LGBT rights, and culture.

I submitted an idea to Google’s Project 10 to the 100 based onthis blog, and one of the final 16 submissions was to make educational content available online for free.

I’m currently working on a book about the Meaning of life, and while many people may disagree with my philosophical conclusions, the book includes sections (that I would like to expand into stand alone books) offering in depth analysis of responsibility, logic, ethics and self-actualization. I am also working on a stand-alone nonfiction book on how to think, which will eventually be converted into fictional childrens’ fables. Aside from those massive projects I have more ideas for future projects than I have time to accomplish. I’ve filled about 20 notebooks and counting with ideas and observations that I haven’t posted on the Internet, and I’m an avid sketch artist.

It’s highly unlikely that anyone would agree with all of my theories (or even my style), but there’s no denying the theme of my work. I’m trying to solve real world problems and come up with ideas to make the world a better place, but I can’t improve or correct them unless I have time to.

The MacArthur Fellows Program would allow me to focus on my passions for writing and solving problems full time, and in return I would build a secular monastery where geniuses can retreat from the distractions of modern society and focus on solving the problems they see in the world.