Recurse Center

Coding requires collaboration. As Andrew Bosworth said recently: doing anything meaningful past a certain point requires more than one person. So if you want to build, it’s important to do so as part of a welcoming, collaborative environment.

One environment I’ve long admired is that of the Recurse Center (formerly known as Hacker School). They’ve been unusually thoughtful about the dynamics of their culture. I’ve always thought that if I had three months to spare, I would attend a batch to experience the community directly (and hopefully contribute back however I can).

And, well, now I have that kind of time.

I was initially surprised by how many experienced engineers told me that they too would attend a Recurse Center batch, if only they could make the timing and logistics work. But I think it shows that no matter how long you’ve been coding, there will always be areas of programming you’ve been meaning to try, and it’s best to do so around other people.

I’m applying to the Summer 2 batch (starting in July). If you have the time to spare, you should apply too!