If researchers shared their #1 idea daily, we'd navigate existential challenges far more effectively
By Jordan Arel @ 2026-01-14T06:25 (+11)
What's a crux?
A “crux” for short, or “crucial consideration” for long, is an idea that, if understood and acted upon, could significantly shift humanity's trajectory toward better outcomes. These are the golden nuggets that x-risk researchers care about most: insights that bring us closer to averting catastrophes and achieving flourishing futures. I think about cruxes constantly. But because I don't always write them down, I never fully develop them, integrate them into my worldview, or share them with others. That changes today. Starting now, I'm committing to writing one crux every day. I'm inviting you to join me.
Why Crux Daily?
Writing forces clarity. A daily practice means:
- Sharper thinking: In the process of writing out a crux, you develop a deeper understanding of it
- Accumulating insight: Over time, you build a personal map of what matters most
- Community feedback: Others can identify which ideas resonate and which need refinement
- Collective wisdom: If many researchers share their top ideas daily, we all level up
Imagine hundreds of researchers, each posting their single most important insight every day. A firehose of the best ideas in the world, flowing directly into your mind. That's the vision.
Introducing Crux: A Short-Form Forum
To support this practice, I'm soft-launching Crux; a platform designed specifically for sharing crucial considerations. The constraints are intentional:
- One post per day: Forces you to identify your most important idea
- 1,111-word maximum: Any crux can be read in under five minutes
- Comments ("sub-cruxes"): Space for details, context, and discussion
The brevity isn't a limitation—it's the point. Distill your thinking to its essence. Spend the time you'd use writing 3,000 words instead refining 500.
How to Participate
- Write your crux. What's the most important idea you have today? The one that, if everyone understood it, could meaningfully change our collective trajectory?
- Post it. Post on Crux directly, or cross-post to the EA Forum and LessWrong (with a link back, if you're willing, it helps the platform grow).
- Read others' cruxes. Five minutes each. Build your understanding of what the sharpest minds consider most crucial.
You can learn more about the platform by clicking "How to Crux" on the site itself.
Why This Matters Now
We may be approaching the most consequential period in human history. The decisions made in the coming years about AI, strategy, coordination, values; these could lock in trajectories lasting into the long-term future. Mapping the territory matters. Getting our best ideas out of our heads and into shared space matters. Building the habit of asking "what's most important?" every single day; that matters. This is a small commitment with potentially large returns. One short post. Your best idea. Every day. Let's build this together.
YouTube version:
Yarrow Bouchard 🔸 @ 2026-01-15T14:13 (+1)
"Crux" is its own word; it isn’t short for "crucial consideration" or anything else. From Merriam-Webster:
In Latin, crux referred literally to an instrument of torture, often a cross or stake, and figuratively to the torture and misery inflicted by means of such an instrument. Crux eventually developed the sense of "a puzzling or difficult problem"; that was the first meaning that was used when the word entered English in the early 18th century. Later, in the late 19th century, crux began to be used more specifically to refer to an essential point of a legal case that required resolution before the case as a whole could be resolved. Today, the verdict on crux is that it can be used to refer to any important part of a problem or argument, inside or outside of the courtroom.
The EA Forum wiki also notes that a "crucial consideration" is a related concept, not a synonym of "crux" or a longhand version of the term.