Monday, June 2 – Friday, June 6

ARBOR SUMMER COLLEGE

A micromester of workshops and bootcamps the week between LessOnline and Manifest

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What is Arbor Summer College?

A week of experimental learning at Lighthaven Campus

Arbor Summer College is an in-person opportunity to learn via creation, experimentation, and gameplay. Our philosophy is that the best way to learn is to do, and that if you really want to grok an idea, you need to feel it in your bones. We've built a course catalog for you around this thesis.

Think "college" and "Disneyland." A dozen different branches — bootcamps, workshops, games, and multi-day immersive experiences — will run in parallel across campus throughout the week. Some of these branches — like Quant Trading Bootcamp and the Transformative AI tabletop exercise — are established workshops that have stood the tests of time and selection effects. Others are brand new or experimental in content and format, with you as their first victims students. All of them are oriented around the fact that the best way to learn is by doing.

Arbor Summer College takes place the week between LessOnline and Manifest, when hundreds of curious people will flock to Lighthaven Campus to discuss, debate, and bet on every topic under the sun. It's about as promising a student body as we could ASC for.

Experimental Branches

  • How to build an exchange from scratch
  • Vibe coding for the non-coder
  • Puzzles-based approach to security mindset
  • Designing AI Interfaces for Better Epistemics
  • ... and more!
  1. How to Build an Exchange
    Rachel Wonnacott
  2. How to Edit
    Clara Collier, Jake Eaton
  3. Code Bloom
    Yoav Tzfati
  4. Sketchy Tactics
    Sy Etirabys
  5. Security Mindset
    Twig Theis
  6. AI for Epistemics
    Nicholas Dupuis
  7. Aerial Silks
    Sydney Von Arx
  8. Trading Bootcamp
    David Holt, Ross Rheingans-Yoo, Ricki Heicklen
  9. AGI table-top exercise
    Daniel Kokotajlo

A container for the greater Lighthaven community to participate in intimate, multi-day events in the most target-rich environment that exists for them, anywhere in the world, any time in the year.

FAQ

How can I get tickets?

Tickets for Arbor Summer College campus access are available at the Lighthaven Festival Season Ticket Store and cost $375. If you want to enroll in a branch, you will need to purchase a separate ticket for that branch — once you sign up for a branch, we'll send you payment details.

Who, what, where, when, and why?

  • Who: ~300 folks in town for Lighthaven Festival Season
  • What's included: Campus access, meals, swag, and evening activities, plus branch-specific content.
  • When: Monday June 2 - Friday June 6
  • Where: Lighthaven, 2740 Telegraph Avenue, Berkeley, CA
  • Why: Look, if you want to run a branch on philosophy, you can submit a proposal here.

Is housing provided?

A limited number of onsite rooms can be purchased from Lighthaven, but there will be many times more people in attendance than rooms, so most people will have to find other housing.

Is food provided?

Yes! We will be providing lunch, dinner, and snacks every day. Branches will only run during non-meal times, which are designated as communal times to hang out with others on campus.

Can I bring my kids?

Yes! Kids are very welcome at the event. We are still searching for a branch leader to coordinate children's programming — if that might be you, please let us know.

Can I volunteer in exchange for a free ticket?

We have a limited number of free ASC entry tickets available for volunteers. Please fill out this form and select "Volunteer / Ops" under "Any other roles that appeal to you?" to let us know you're interested in volunteering.

I'm interested in taking multiple branches. Can I sign up for more than one?

By default, no. The branches are not designed for people to drop in and out, and many of them are very intense. We recommend picking one and sticking to it. That said, there are a few single day branches that might be possible to fit together, and if you're interested in that, please let us know via the registration form.

I have an idea for a branch. Can I run my bootcamp/workshop/interpretive dance at ASC?

The main bottleneck is physical space at Lighthaven. If you have something you'd like to run, please let us know and we'll see if we can work something out.

More questions?

ASC us anything ;)

Thanks for your question! We'll get back to you soon.