CORE
FAQ for Competition for Outstanding Research Explanation #CORE1
Basics
What is CORE? A contest for outstanding video explanations on graduate-level Theoretical Physics, Foundations of AI, and Philosophy of Physics.
When is the deadline? March 31, 2026, 11:59 PM Toronto Time (EDT).
What are the prizes? $5,000 USD total. Five winners receive (at least) $1,000 USD each.
What are the categories?
Theoretical Physics
Foundations of AI
Philosophy of Physics
Adjacent Topics (for entries that don’t fit neatly)
Useful links?
Submission form: https://tally.so/r/xXrk1o
CORE Discord: https://discord.gg/VdGFUYtPDS
Inquiries: core_toe at proton dot me
Eligibility
Can teams enter? Yes. Credit all members in your submission.
Age requirement? 18+, or 13+ with parental consent.
Can I enter multiple categories? One entry per YouTube channel. If your topic spans categories, pick the best fit.
Submission Requirements
What do I need to include?
A public YouTube video (uploaded between Dec 19, 2025 and March 31, 2026)
Verbal or visual credit: “An initiative by Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal”
#CORE1 in your video title
Link to https://youtube.com/TheoriesOfEverything in your description
Does it have to be in English? Yes, but subtitles are acceptable if the video is in another language. YouTube also has a dubbing feature.
Is there a length requirement? No minimum or maximum. Say what needs to be said.
Can my video have ads or sponsorships? Sure. I don’t care.
Can I use something I started before the announcement? Yes, as long as it wasn’t already published.
Can I use AI tools? For animation/editing, yes. The intellectual content must be yours. No “AI slop.” Anyone with a degree in the relevant field can tell, and your entry could be disqualified if it’s blatantly non-rigorous / generated mostly by LLMs.
What does NOT count as a valid entry? CORE is for explaining established concepts from the peer‑reviewed literature (not for presenting original theories, personal cosmologies, or speculative frameworks). If your video proposes a novel theory rather than explaining existing research, it falls outside CORE’s scope. Entries should demonstrate engagement with existing scholarly work (papers, textbooks, established lectures). No “AI slop” either.
Content
Can my topic be “too technical”? No. Highly technical topics are encouraged. If it’s stirred you, explain it.
What if I don’t have all the answers? Be honest about what you don’t know. Showing your research process is also valuable.
Does my entry need to be self-contained? Yes. It shouldn’t require viewers to watch other videos first. Feel free to aim toward a graduate student in your respective field if you’re uncertain.
What counts as “Adjacent Topics”? Anything at the boundaries—constructive empiricism, information-theoretic approaches to consciousness, etc. Yes, the abbreviation “etc.” is doing plenty of work.
How is this different from SoME? SoME (run by 3Blue1Brown) focuses on math explanation and tends toward accessible, introductory-to-undergraduate content. CORE targets graduate-level material specifically in theoretical physics, foundations of AI, and philosophy. #CORE1 is also (currently) entirely self-funded by Curt Jaimungal rather than sponsor-driven.
Judging
How does judging work? After the deadline, there’s a peer review phase where entrants score each other’s work. Top entries then go to a professor panel for final selection.
What’s the judging question? “How valuable is this entry to the space of advanced science explanation, compared to what’s already out there?”
What criteria matter?
Intellectual Depth (accuracy, rigor)
Insightfulness (hidden connections, “aha!” moments)
Impact (significance of the topic)
Do I have to participate in peer review? Yes, to qualify for prizes.
When is peer review? April 1–21, 2026.
Who is on the professor panel? To be announced before peer review begins.
Practical
Do I keep copyright? Yes. Full ownership, no exclusivity. Enter other contests too.
What about non-video content? For #CORE1, we’re focusing only on YouTube videos only. Future years may expand.
Can I submit Patreon/paid content? Only if it’s publicly accessible on YouTube without login.
Where do I find collaborators? Anywhere. University. Jury duty. Hostage negotiations. There’s also the CORE Discord.
How will ties be broken? The professor panel, along with me, has final discretion.
Note on AI
Yes, there’s plenty of information on YouTube about all sorts of different algorithms and architectures, what they’re good for, and how to build them. But simultaneously there’s a distinct dearth of exploring why. Why is a huge pile of linear algebra so good at language? Why are hallucinations seemingly impossible to get rid of? Why is machine learning superhuman at X thing or deeply subhuman at Y thing? These are simple questions, but the real answers to them often require this kind of graduate‑level deep dive.
Links (again)
Submission form: https://tally.so/r/xXrk1o
CORE Discord: https://discord.gg/VdGFUYtPDS
Sponsorship inquiries: core_toe at proton dot me
Timeline
Submissions open: Now
Submission deadline: March 31, 2026
Peer review: April 1–21, 2026
Final judging: April 22–May 15, 2026
Winners announced: Late May 2026
Thank you. You got this.
—Curt Jaimungal