Operationalizing
Issue #27: Editor Wanted + New Field Guide
In this issue: Protocolized is looking for another editor, catch up on the kickoff for the technical foundations track, reminder for the SIGs survey, and a new field guide.
Sci-Fi Renaissance Support
We are looking for an editor. Details here. To apply, please send 2-3 paragraphs about you, your experience, and your interests, and a resume (a writing sample is a bonus) to research@summerofprotocols.com by June 20, 2025. .
“Individual science fiction stories may seem as trivial as ever to the blinder critics and philosophers of today — but the core of science fiction, its essence, the concept about which it revolves, has become crucial to our salvation, if we are to be saved at all.” - Isaac Asimov
Technical Foundations Kickoff
This week we kicked off this year’s technical foundations track with a talk titled Towards a Formal Theory of Protocols. You can get caught up with the recording on the Protocol Town Hall.
Like economics formalized markets and how we manage them, is it possible to formalize protocols – to express them formally, in mathematical terms – so that we can use them in more sophisticated ways?
Formalization of protocol studies is a focus for the remainder of the year. In October, we’ll accelerate work on models and theory and what Sanjoy Mahajan calls Streeet-Fighting Mathematics with an in-person, weekend technical conference (Basket of Protocols. And today, the #formal-protocol-theory SIG had its first call.
Applications for the Basket of Protocols working conference will open soon. If you’re math-inclined or math-curious, we recommend engaging on Discord to boost your chances. To get notified when the call for applications goes live, subscribe.
SIGs Update
We’ve slightly rejigged the SIGs (Special Interest Groups) to make them more interesting. Each SIG lead will now produce a few articles for Protocolized, in addition to the bimonthly-ish study sessions. To help us calibrate for interest, fill out the SIG survey here.
We chose a low-thoroughness, high-efficiency layout for the form. The titles might be a bit vague, so if you have questions or ideas, please share them on Discord.
Stay subscribed or join the Discord to stay up to date on SIGs. Facilitators will share details here periodically – and you can look forward to a kickoff talk for each SIG as they start up.
Operationalizing Protocols
We’re excited to announce a new field guide designed for practitioners, analysts, and facilitators. It’s a bundle of the most popular, practical tools and concepts in protocol studies, featuring things like:
The Kafka Index
Pattern Languages for the Design of Urban and Digital Spaces
Tensions Game Workshop Templates
A Fresh Guide to Protocol Thinking
Five Real-World Case Studies
A future version of this document might be put into print. In the meantime, it’s a publicly accessible Google Doc. That means you can share, remix, copy, and fork. Plus, with the modular format (tip: use the ToC to navigate) you can read the guide in any order. Tasked with a challenging project? Find some traction.
Let us know what you think on Discord. If you’re more of an academic type, we still recommend the Protocol Reader – a challenging, but worthwhile one-weekend read.