Our beliefs form the basis for our actions.

Men's identities are manifold.

You are made of many selves - layered, evolving, and sometimes contradictory. Growth lies in embracing your complexity.

1. We will not put you in a box, give you a label, or assign you a "type."
2. We will strive to communicate your complexity effectively.

Hill, A. L., Miller, E., Switzer, G. E., Yu, L., Heilman, B., Levtov, R. G., ... & Coulter, R. W. (2020). Harmful masculinities among younger men in three countries: Psychometric study of the Man Box Scale. Preventive Medicine, 139, 106185. https://www.sciencedirect.com/
science/article/abs/pii/
S0091743520302097

McAdams, D. P. (2011). Narrative identity. The Oxford Handbook of Identity Development, 1, 1-27.

Identity is shaped by what  we see, hear, and experience.

Every word, image, and interaction shapes who we are becoming, often in ways we don't immediately see.

1. The content we share with you will be intentionally selected to support identity formation.

Read more about how identity is shaped here

Identity is shaped by others.

We become ourselves in relationship - through community, challenge, recognition, and even conflict.

1. We will pursue diversity of participants and diversity of thought.
2. We will enable peer interaction, observation, and group-based insight.

Read more about how identity is shaped here

You are a participant - not a user.

This is not about extraction or passive consumption; it's about active engagement, collaboration, and self-authorship.

1. That means you can co-create the experience through feedback loops, contribution channels, and platform evolution

Jenkins, H., & Deuze, M. (2008). Editorial: Convergence Culture. Convergence, 14(1), 5-12. https://doi.org/10.1177/
1354856507084415

Insight comes from unexpected connections.

Breakthroughs happen when distant parts of our lives - or different people's lives - intersect in surprising ways.

1. That means the value of the Manifold is in connections and configurations of data.
2. That means the Manifold only works if many men – and many types of men - contribute to it.
3. That means the Manifold incentivizes depth of contributions and breadth of connections.

Granovetter, M. S. (1973). The strength of weak ties. American Journal of Sociology, 78(6), 1360–1380. https://www.journals.uchicago.
edu/doi/abs/10.1086/225469

Self-knowledge emerges not just from input, but from integration.

1. That means the Manifold will provide space for personal reflection — through prompts, journals, or feedback loops.
   
2. That means you should be able to track how your self-concept evolves over time, in relation to others.
   
3. That means the system should reward introspection, not just expression.

Fleeson, W., & Jayawickreme, E. (2015). Whole trait theory. Journal of Research in Personality, 56, 82–92. https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.jrp.2014.10.009

Dweck, C. S. (2017). From needs to goals and representations: Foundations for a unified theory of motivation, personality, and development. Psychological Review, 124(6), 689–719. https://doi.org/10.1037/
rev0000082

It's your data.

The reflections, patterns, and insights you generate are yours to protect, explore, and direct.

1. That means you – not an admin, not AI, not a cloud - should have control of it.

Nissenbaum, H. (2004). Privacy as contextual integrity. Washington Law Review, 79(1), 119–157.

Your data should be good for you.

Information about you should deepen your self-understanding and empower personal growth - never exploit you.

1. That means the questions you answer should be intentionally chosen to help you, not hurt you.

Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The “what” and “why” of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227–268.

Your data can do good for others.

When shared intentionally, your data can illuminate paths for others who are seeking their way.

1. That means that you should have a say in and a hand in how your data is shared with others.
   
2. That means that your data is shared with the intention of helping others

Putnam, R. D. (2000). Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York: Simon & Schuster.