Ursprung Retreat III: Tools for Thought
Tools for Thought refers to an intellectual lineage aiming to invent context[s] in which the user can have new kinds of thought, thoughts that were formerly impossible for them. Consider writing, drawing, mathematics, maps, data visualizations, spreadsheets or the hyperlinked World Wide Web - all these fundamentally enable certain thoughts , or even entire modes of thinking, and all these were invented at some point, even if some have become so natural that we hardly use the term “invention”. All these are Tools for Thought.
During Ursprung Retreat III, we want to explore the question: how can we invent new Tools for Thought?
Early pioneers - Vannevar Bush, Douglas Engelbart, Kenneth Iverson, Alan Kay - all had innovative answers to this question, albeit rooted in the technology and culture of their time. These days, thinkers such as Michael Nielsen, Andy Matuschak and Bret Victor are pushing the envelope: how can media make remembering information a choice, instead of haphhazard circumstance? How can we go beyond imitating printed paper when presenting information on fundamentally interactive computers? How can AI be used as a Tool for Thought? How can we think and compute in spatial environments?
This November, we want to see what happens when we bring together a radically interdisciplinary collection of thinkers to build, hack and prototype together on these central questions.
Calling all artists, technologists, writers, scientists, philosophers, and more - for a hands-on, experimental, explorative attempt to forge new tools for interdisciplinary thinking.
Spots available: 20 max.
Location: a cosy chalet high in the mountains in Tirol, Austria. Details shared upon invitation.
Application
Update: We are now full and no longer accepting new applications!
Feel free to consider instead our fourth retreat on Creativity Beyond Computation in January 2026.
Pricing
Ursprung is currently funded entirely by its participants. We therefore have a tiered pricing scheme:
Student 350€
For students and those on low income. We hope to offer a limited number of even further discounted tickets to those in need; please do apply anyway if the cost would otherwise keep you from attending.
Professional 550€
For those who work. Your support makes this retreat accessible to an interdisciplinary and diverse cohort from all walks of life.
Supporter 800€
For those who can afford it, we are highly grateful for your support to make the continuation of the ursprung project possible. Let us know if you want to contribute a different amount.
The retreat fee includes:
- Accommodation (3 nights, shared rooms)
- All meals during the retreat
- Program activities and materials
- Workshop participation
- Shuttle from designated train station to venue