Project Title
Mycelium Research Webpage - Educational Resources
Description
Mycelium Research currently has a tab on the Mycelium website that is devoted to long-form educational resources that walk the reader through the difficult details of various topics. The aim of these articles is to be the one-stop-shop for explanations of a particular topic. All of the articles are written by a researcher who thoroughly understands the topic, and are accompanied by illustrations and FAQs.
Manifesto/Vision
We want to open the floodgates of knowledge to all those who want access. We want to see an ecosystem where the regular user has all the resources available to them to understand the protocols that they are interacting with, if they choose to do so. We are also firm believers that a rising tide lifts all ships, and that a more knowledgeable world is a healthier one. We believe everyone should have access to quality educational material so that we can all think critically, but more importantly, think for ourselves.
Problem
There is no shortage of educational articles and discussion pieces on a wide range of blockchain topics. However, many of these articles stay at a high level - handwaving all the important details away.
In our experience, it is very easy to find a quick five minute read that discusses a topic, but very difficult to find extended resources that explains a topic in great detail.
This is likely due to the limited pool of people who are capable of writing these in-depth resources being incredibly busy building or researching, and don’t have to time to stop and write.
Solution
We are working to solve this problem by creating extensive educational documents, complete with FAQs and illustrations, that take the reader into the weeds of the topic in a considered and measured manner. Our resources are intentionally long form so that the reader can be guided through the technical details, rather than just thrown in the deep end, or not given the details at all.
We won’t write about a topic unless we have a very strong understanding of the content. This is because our goal isn’t to simply write a list of correct statements about a topic, but rather to give a good explanation.
The topics are intentionally varied, to give a complete understanding of all of the intersecting pieces that make up blockchain.
Product Features
Each of the articles that are written will contain: extensive technical explanations, accompanying illustrations, and a frequently asked questions section.
We are taking a strong position again handwaving away the details that are difficult to explain. We won’t write about a topic until we have a very strong understanding of the content.
Validation
No formal validation, although we have received some compliments.
Progress
To date we have published eight articles at a weekly rate, going forward we are looking to publish every two weeks to ensure quality. The topics that we have covered so far are:
- Smart Contract and PoS Security
- CBDC Objectives and Design
- Ethereum Light Clients
- Quantum Computation and it’s Implication on Blockchain Technology
- The Journey of an Ethereum Transaction
- Obfuscation and Verification of Functions
- Environmental and Societal Impact of Blockchain
- MEV and Flashbots
We are also currently working on improving SEO to extend our organic reach.
Differentiation (from other projects)
The articles that we write are targeted to people who have been involved in crypto for a little while and are trying to dive deeper.
The aim of these resources is to take people from an intermediate understanding of the technical aspect of blockchain technology closer to an advanced level. Ideally our works become the common reference point that people can reliably fall back on to increase their understanding of a new topic, or brush up on an old one.
Team
Mycelium Research is the in-house research team at Mycelium. We currently have five full time researchers working predominantly in core development and cryptography/zk technology, and intend to grow this year. Our team also provides research services to Tracer DAO, Reputation DAO, and Koji Capital.
Grant Request $
$18,750USD for 3 months of 1 full time researcher, with the intention of reapplying for a longer period afterwards.
What the Funds Are For
These funds will help subsidise the salary of a dedicated researcher from the Mycelium Research team to create the content that will be displayed on our website. These articles will be released at a rate of once every two weeks for a period of three months. We intend to request more funding at the completion of this initial round.
WHAT THE FUNDS WON’T BE USED FOR:
- Overhead expenses to our parent company Mycelium (our share of rent, utilities, legal fees, insurance, et cetera)
- Wages for supporting employees (illustrator, website manager, et cetera)
Help Requested
Financial assistance to subsidise some of our research expenses is the primary request. However, we welcome any chance to learn more, whether that be from an introduction to an expert or pointing us towards a new topic.