The Self-Referencing Institute solves disagreements about value. Value is important because it tells us what's valuable. There's only so much time in the day, so we need to know what to study. We can't put every object ever made in a museum, and we can't put every book ever written in a library. The point of institutions is to separate value from everything else, so we know what's worth our attention.

Universities debate which experts to study, and how much time to spend on each expert. The lack of consensus causes students to doubt whether value exists. Since the authorities on the subject are unsure about what has value, it's reasonable to conclude that value isn't that important. Students aren't motivated to put in the effort because why bother. Why bother get better at something if it's unclear whether it's "better".

Good scholarship answers questions of value. References check with other references to create a self-referencing system that is statistically impossible as a coincidence. It proves that experts exist, and that experts are distinct from non-experts. It reassures students that they aren't the same as experts, which motivates them to become experts.

—Alex Sabo