Inspired by Garrett Lisi, http://sifter.org/~aglisi/ and Brett Alan Norval.
Imagine going on holiday as a science student, hanging out with your heros for a few weeks, staying in the most beautiful places the world has to offer and spending some spare time learning to surf-- all for no cost to you
personally.
For this opportunity to become a reality, less is required than you may think:
- 1 x beautiful place
- 1 x house with 5 bedrooms
- 1 x sponsor
- A little spare time
'The physical requirements for conducting scholarly research have changed dramatically with the rise of the internet. It is now viable for researchers with laptop computers to work autonomously -- with access to current articles and communication channels on par with the resources available at large universities.'- G Lisi
'I’ve been thinking about what the ideal scientific work environment would be, and the best thing I’ve been able to come up with is a Science Hostel. I envision a large house where theorists could live and work on their stuff alone or in groups while having their meals and living space provided. The idea is to give researchers time, with an easily accessible but undemanding social atmosphere, and as little responsibility as possible. And, of course, it would have to be somewhere beautiful — with good hiking and other things to do outside. For the past year I’ve been living near Lake Tahoe — a great environment for thinking and playing. Anywhere in the mountains would probably be good for a Science Hostel — even better if it’s next to a good ski hill."- Garrett Lisi
What I am proposing is that a few scientists from all over the world hang out a few weeks/months a year in these hostels and research what ever they are currently interested in, while us 'scientists in the making' pay a small fee (that covers our living expenses and the scientists) to meet some of the greatest minds of our time and possibly get a lecture once or twice a week from one of the big brains.
For us, visiting the science hostel would be like a 'science vacation, we meet some like minded people and explore a beautiful location with some new friends-- not for credits or any thing in particular, just fun.
One would have to apply to stay in the hostel based on ones science marks ect. Although it would only cost about $20/$40 per night (depending on how long you stay), many of the scientists in the making would be sponsored by the companies they will be working for in a few years time.
This could either be a non-profit scheme where the money is kept in the hostel and used to build more hostels or where the 'left over' cash is donated to supporting the local environment and economy.
There would be a variety of different hostels, ie, a marine biology hostel, a geology hostel... all in their suitable locations so a person who wants to be an atomic physicist can actually go and see CERN's large hadron collider in Geneva.
Science hostel is green and runs off locally grown food stuffs.