science

Icarus Project

Icarus Project is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Icarus Project rather than just read about it. In short: The Icarus Project (2002–2020) was an American network of peer-support groups and media projects with the stated aim of changing the social stigmas regarding mental health. The project was rebranded as Fireweed Collective in 2020.

Key takeaways

Icarus Project belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Icarus Project to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Icarus Project from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Icarus Project (2002–2020) was an American network of peer-support groups and media projects with the stated aim of changing the social stigmas regarding mental health. The project was rebranded as Fireweed Collective in 2020.

History In 2002, Sascha Altman DuBrul wrote an article published in the San Francisco Bay Guardian about his experiences being diagnosed with bipolar disorder. He founded the Icarus Project with Jacks McNamara, an artist and writer. The Project sought to create spaces where people could talk freely about their lived experiences in regards to their mental health. Years later, musician-activist Bonfire Madigan Shive and counsellor/activist Will Hall became key members in The Icarus Project's administration and development.

Mission The Icarus Project's stated aims were to provide a "support network and education project by and for people who experience the world in ways that are often diagnosed as mental illness." The responsibilities of the group are to gather people locally for support, and access to alternatives to mainstream medical diagnosis and treatment. The Project advocates self-determination and caution when approaching psychiatric care. It encourages alternatives to the medical model that is accepted by mental health professionals. In 2005, journalist Jennifer Itzenson noted that while the Icarus Project may accept those with a wide range of "perspectives" on mental health issues, there is also "an edge of militancy within the group," particularly among those who reject medication. Itzenson also writes that's the group's questioning of medical care is "misguided" and that rejecting medication is a "potentially fatal choice" for those with bipolar disorder. While Icarus Project staff have described their expertise in social activism, herbalism, and labour organizing; none of them are licensed medical or mental health professionals. The Icarus Project advisory board members describe their members as educators, artists, activists, writers, healers, community organizers, and other creative types. Some members of the group identify as Latinx, queer, trans, people of colour or mixed race, and trauma survivors.

Structure / funding The Icarus Project was under the fiscal sponsorship of FJC, a non-profit 501(c)3 umbrella organization arm of an investment firm, based in New York City. The Icarus Project formerly got the bulk of its money from foundation grants, including the Ittleson Foundation, but it also had many individual donors.

Publications Educational materials published by The Icarus Project have been published in Spanish, German, French, Italian, Japanese, Greek, and Bosnian/Croatian. Some of these publications are listed below:

Navigating the Space Between Brilliance and Madness; A Reader and Roadmap of Bipolar Worlds (2004) Friends Make the Best Medicine: A Guide to Creating Community Mental Health Support Networks. (2006) Through the Labyrinth; A Harm Reduction Guide to Coming Off Psychiatric Drugs (2009) Mindful Occupation: Rising Up without Burning Out (2012) Madness and Oppression: Personal Paths to Transformation and Collective Liberation (2015)

Filmography Films about Icarus Project members are listed below:

Ken Paul Rosenthal (2010). Crooked Beauty. 30 min. Poetic documentary featuring Jacks McNamara. In Mad Dance Mental Health Film Trilogy. Ken Paul Rosenthal (2018). Whisper Rapture. 36 min. A doc-opera featuring Bonfire Madigan Shive.

References

External links Official website East Bay Express, August 3, 2005 - Off Their Meds - Modern psychiatrists prescribe pills for hundreds of "biological" disorders. The radical mental health movement isn't so sure - By Stefanie Kalem MindFreedom Radio - Sascha DuBrul of Icarus Project Next Guest on MF Radio

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Icarus Project

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Icarus Project claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Icarus Project before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Icarus Project ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Icarus Project

In research: Icarus Project appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Icarus Project in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Icarus Project is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Anti-psychiatry, DIY culture, Health and disability rights organizations in the United States, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Icarus Project outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Icarus Project in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Icarus Project means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Icarus Project out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Icarus Project in simple terms?

Why does Icarus Project matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Icarus Project?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Icarus Project.