# Week 00 — Materials: what to read, what to watch

Status: PREPARED 2026-09-15. Links checked on 2026-09-15 unless marked **(verify)**.
Authority: v6 master plan, Week 0 "Learn it" block, expanded into exact locators per the [source contract](../../SOURCES.md).

[Week 00 brief](./specs.md) · [Commitment](./commitment.md) · [Evidence](./evidence.md) · [Review](./review.md) · [Next week's materials](../week-01-fermentation-simulator/materials.md)

## Where this fits in the week

Week 00 has **no Tuesday/Thursday study blocks**. Everything below is read in spare 30-minute pockets or in the Sunday hour. Nothing here is allowed to displace the only-one-thing: the `cockpit` repo with `TODAY.md` filled for Monday.

| Slot | Budget | Material |
|---|---:|---|
| Spare pocket 1 | 25 min | R1 Hamming, the two sections named below |
| Spare pocket 2 | 15 min | R2 Alon, two pages |
| Spare pocket 3 | 20 min | R3 Wilson, two sections |
| Sunday, before writing post 0 | 20 min | V1 or V2, one of them, not both |
| Saturday sandbox (optional) | — | Everything under "Deeper" |

Total required: **~80 minutes of reading + 20 minutes of video.**

## Read

| # | Source | Exact scope | Min | Why this week | Produce |
|---|---|---|---:|---|---|
| R1 | Richard W. Hamming, *You and Your Research*, Bell Communications Research Colloquium, 7 March 1986. Transcript: [gwern.net/doc/science/1986-hamming](https://gwern.net/doc/science/1986-hamming) · PDF mirror: [homepages.inf.ed.ac.uk/wadler/papers/firbush/hamming.pdf](https://homepages.inf.ed.ac.uk/wadler/papers/firbush/hamming.pdf) | The passage on **"important problems"** (why most scientists never work on one) and the passage on **open door vs closed door** | 25 | It is the argument for why a 40-week plan aimed at one thesis beats 40 weeks of interesting side quests — the exact failure mode your ADHD brain is best at | 5 lines in `notes/craft/W00.md`: the one important problem you are choosing, and the two you are refusing |
| R2 | Uri Alon, "How To Choose a Good Scientific Problem", *Molecular Cell* 35(6):726-728, 2009. DOI [10.1016/j.molcel.2009.09.013](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molcel.2009.09.013) · free author PDF: [weizmann.ac.il/mcb/alon/…/howtochoosegoodproblem.pdf](https://www.weizmann.ac.il/mcb/alon/sites/mcb.UriAlon/files/uploads/nurturing/howtochoosegoodproblem.pdf) | Whole paper, 2 pages — especially the **feasibility × interest** chart | 15 | You will reuse that chart in week 21 to scope Paper 3 with a partner. Learn it now, cheaply | Place FermLit on the feasibility/interest chart, one paragraph, into `notes/craft/W00.md` |
| R3 | Wilson G. et al., "Good enough practices in scientific computing", *PLOS Computational Biology* 13(6):e1005510, 2017. DOI [10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005510](https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005510) · preprint: [arxiv.org/abs/1609.00037](https://arxiv.org/abs/1609.00037) | Sections **"Data management"** and **"Project organization"** only | 20 | Justifies, in one sitting, every folder you create today (`data/raw` read-only and never committed, `reports/figures` regenerated) | Copy the two directory checklists into the README skeletons of `batchlens` and `fermlit` |
| R4 | *The Turing Way* handbook — [book.the-turing-way.org](https://book.the-turing-way.org) | "Guide for Reproducible Research" → the overview chapter only; browse the table of contents | 15 (optional) | Your week-4 DOI release and week-36 JOSS submission are graded against exactly these habits | Two checklists saved to [`PARKING.md`](../../PARKING.md), not acted on yet |

## Watch (YouTube)

Durations are approximate. **Pick one of V1/V2, not both.**

| # | Channel · title | ~Length | Link | When | Produce |
|---|---|---:|---|---|---|
| V1 | Barbara Oakley · "Learning how to learn" (TEDxOaklandUniversity) | ~18 min | [youtube.com/watch?v=O96fE1E-rf8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O96fE1E-rf8) | Sunday, before writing post 0 | One line in `notes/craft/W00.md`: which ritual in Part 0.3 is your diffuse-mode slot |
| V2 | Richard Hamming · "You and Your Research" (recorded talk, 6 June 1995) | ~1 h 15 | [youtube.com/watch?v=a1zDuOPkMSw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1zDuOPkMSw) | Only if you prefer voice to text — it replaces R1, it does not add to it. Play at 1.25× while packing the cockpit | Same output as R1 |
| V3 | *Learning How to Learn* (Oakley & Sejnowski), Coursera, **free audit** — [coursera.org/learn/learning-how-to-learn](https://www.coursera.org/learn/learning-how-to-learn) | ~40 min | Week 1 lessons: **focused vs diffuse mode** and **chunking** | Optional substitute for V1 if you want the full treatment | Nothing. Do not enrol in the whole course |

## Deeper — Saturday sandbox only, never instead of the above

- Sandve G. et al., "Ten Simple Rules for Reproducible Computational Research", *PLOS Comp. Biol.* 9(10):e1003285, 2013 — DOI [10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003285](https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003285). This is week 04's reading; reading it early is allowed, re-reading it in week 04 is still required.
- Elliot Hershberg, *Century of Biology* newsletter — one essay, for where biotech is heading. **(verify)** search the title; no fixed URL recorded.
- [carpentries-lab/good-enough-practices](https://github.com/carpentries-lab/good-enough-practices) — the lesson version of R3, if you would rather do it than read it.

## Link check log — 2026-09-15

- Verified reachable via search index today: R1 (both mirrors), R2 (DOI + Weizmann PDF), R3 (DOI + arXiv), V1, V2.
- Not independently re-checked today, inherited from the v6 shelf: R4, V3, *Century of Biology*. Marked **(verify)** where no stable URL exists.
- Record actual access date and the sections you really read in [`evidence.md`](./evidence.md). If a link has moved, search the exact title, log the substitution, and do not silently swap in a different source.

## NotebookLM kit sources for `LABLOOP-W00`

Load, in this order: (1) this file; (2) the Week 00 chapter from the v6 master; (3) Part 0 of the v6 master; (4) R1 transcript; (5) R2 PDF; (6) R3 article page; (7) V1 video URL; (8) your LinkedIn About draft.

Focus line: `Focus: how an experienced program manager should structure 40 weeks of learning with ADHD-friendly rituals, and what "important problems" means for a newcomer to biotech.`

Custom question: `Using Hamming and Alon, critique my thesis choice (FermLit) as an "important and feasible problem" for someone with 10 hours a week. Be specific.`