I’m Giving Away $5,000 to Explain Hard Physics (and AI)
Dec 18, 2025
Curt Jaimungal unveils an exciting competition aimed at researchers and students, offering $5,000 for quality video explainers on complex topics like physics and AI. He encourages participants to tackle advanced concepts and emphasizes the importance of peer-reviewed submissions. The judging criteria focus on intellectual depth and insightfulness, while networking opportunities abound through Discord collaboration. This initiative aims to bridge gaps in technical exposition and inspire the next generation of educators in challenging fields.
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volunteer_activism ADVICE
Make Advanced Explainers
Create high-quality, graduate-level explainer videos to fill gaps in advanced physics, AI, and philosophy content.
Submit public YouTube videos to CORE1 to get peer review exposure and prize eligibility.
insights INSIGHT
Value Of Foundational Theory
CORE targets theory and foundational material practitioners often skip, because that theory determines when methods work and fail.
Focusing on foundational rigor helps reveal edge cases and deeper understanding.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Pick Niche Technical Topics
Choose specialized topics like constructive QFT, BRST cohomology, or neural scaling laws to stand out.
Explain subtle difficulties and rigorous definitions rather than only application-level content.
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Host Curt Jaimungal launches #CORE1, a competition seeking high-level video explainers for physics, AI, and philosophy. If you're a researcher or student, you'll have a chance to win part of the $5,000 prize pool by sharing your technical expertise with the world.
For inquiries, email: core_toe@proton.me
TIMESTAMPS:
- 00:00 - Incentivizing Advanced Research Exposition
- 05:05 - Formalizing Pedagogical Evaluation Standards
LINKS:
- CORE1 FAQ: https://curtjaimungal.substack.com/p/core
- CORE1 Submission Form: https://tally.so/r/xXrk1o
- CORE1 Discord Link: https://discord.com/invite/VdGFUYtPDS
- For Inquiries, email: core_toe@proton.me
- Constructive QFT: https://ncatlab.org/nlab/show/constructive+quantum+field+theory
- Coleman-Mandula Theorem: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coleman%E2%80%93Mandula_theorem
- Eva Miranda [TOE]: https://youtu.be/6XyMepn-AZo
- Emily Riehl [TOE]: https://youtu.be/mTwvecBthpQ
- Summer of Math Exposition: https://some.3b1b.co/
- Scaling Laws for Neural Language Models [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2001.08361
- Elan Barenholtz [TOE]: https://youtu.be/A36OumnSrWY
- Elan Barenholtz & William Hahn [TOE]: https://youtu.be/Ca_RbPXraDE
- Joscha Bach & Karl Friston [TOE]: https://youtu.be/CcQMYNi9a2w
- Double Descent Demystified [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2303.14151
- Ted Jacobson on Diffeomorphism Invariance: https://youtu.be/r6kdHge-NNY
- Jacob Barandes [TOE]: https://youtu.be/7oWip00iXbo
- Barry Loewer & Eddy Chen [TOE]: https://youtu.be/xZnafO__IZ0
- 3Blue1Brown's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/3blue1brown
- Bas van Fraassen [TOE]: https://youtu.be/lhpRAWxvY5s
- Can Physics Explain Its Own Laws? [TOE]: https://youtu.be/0_Px5gbs9i0
- Max Tegmark [TOE]: https://youtu.be/-gekVfUAS7c
- Geoffrey Hinton [TOE]: https://youtu.be/b_DUft-BdIE
- Sir Roger Penrose [TOE]: https://youtu.be/iO03t21xhdk
- Why I Don't Buy the Simulation Hypothesis [TOE]: https://youtu.be/3_lBPMc6JRY
- String Theory Iceberg [TOE]: https://youtu.be/X4PdPnQuwjY
SUPPORT:
- Support me on Substack: https://curtjaimungal.substack.com/subscribe
- Support me on Crypto: https://commerce.coinbase.com/checkout/de803625-87d3-4300-ab6d-85d4258834a9
- Support me on PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=XUBHNMFXUX5S4
JOIN MY SUBSTACK (Personal Writings): https://curtjaimungal.substack.com
LISTEN ON SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e
SOCIALS:
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt
- Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs
Guests do not pay to appear. Theories of Everything receives revenue solely from viewer donations, platform ads, and clearly labelled sponsors; no guest or associated entity has ever given compensation, directly or through intermediaries.
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