There will be a Michigan rationalist/LW/SSC meetup at the Ann Arbor District Library (343 South Fifth Avenue, Ann Arbor) on Saturday, June 13 at 1:30 PM. You can find a map here.
If you’re reading this and can make it to Ann Arbor, you’re invited.
I will be in New York/New Jersey the weekend after that, and probably available the evening of Sunday the 21st. If anybody in the area has space for a meetup, let me know and we can work something out.
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I lack the space for much of a meetup, but would love to meet rationalist/EA people in NYC; I’ve been meaning to go to an event but just haven’t found the right moment. If you are gonna be in the city and need a place to stay, or meetup would just be say a half dozen people, I could host in Morningside Heights.
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I’d definitely like to meet up on the 21st. Not sure about hosting–don’t know if my parents would be comfortable with that, but I can check. I don’t know how meetups usually go, but we could also just hang out in a nice outdoor area like Central Park if the weather’s nice. It would be easy to have a lot of people there, and we could ramble around a bit.
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+1 for Central Park! That’d be cool.
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I need to visit friends in the DC area in a bit, so I dunno if the logistics will work out, but if they do, I’d love to meet Scott et.al in Central Park on the 21st, weather conditions permitting.
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One of these months I’m going to be able to make it to one of these things.
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Are there rationalist meetups at Gen Con in Indianapolis? Because it seems like that’s the only thing that would bring a meetup to Indiana, and that’s the only way I’d go to one.
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We can schedule one. Meetups happen if you declare a time and a place and people show up.
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We should be able to host something at the rationality group house in Brooklyn. What days are you in town?
(Central park would also work well, although it’s important to find a spot that people can actually find – it’s designed on purpose to be a labyrinth one can get lost in)
((Also, this may be a good time to remind everyone that there is a thriving NYC rationalist community that y’all should check out))
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I just came to New York, are there any events happening this summer? Also, I would like to go to an NYC meetup but I cannot host.
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I plan to be there.
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Um, provided I’m feeling better by then.
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Scott,
I know at least one ancap (and suspect there are many more) who want you to come to PorcFest, a libertarian get together being held in Lancaster, NH from June 21-28. There people will discuss (I presume) the awesome power of rationality, Bitcoin, and Capitalism.
They know you hate their freedom, but they still want to see you.
If you can’t come because you are an evil, Socialist monster who has preexisting freedom-reducing obligations, come next year.
Here is the website:
http://porcfest.com/
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I’ll be there. These always seem to be close to my house for some reason.
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Are religious adherents welcome at such meetings (I’m not in Ann Arbor but do visit there on occasion)? I get the impression that most who apply the rationalist label to themselves tend to be anti-religious. Also, what is the relation of this blog to the rationalist meet-up phenomenon announced in this posting? I’ve just started reading a few entries here and have found some interesting insights. Is the author of the blog some sort of adherent to or representative of some kind of rationalist movement? Thanks for any clarifications.
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The author of this blog is a fairly major figure in the rationalist movement, which is mostly centred at Less Wrong. One of the ideas popular with rationalists is openness to different ideas, so you shouldn’t find any hostility to religion at meet-ups, although most rationalists seem to be atheists.
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Rationalists are mostly atheist, but we like religious people more than most atheists do. If you look at the “links” sidebar, you see Unequally Yoked is the second listed blog: it’s written by Leah Libresco, a Catholic who’s pretty well known in the rationalist community.
I certainly don’t think that anyone would be rude to religious adherents at a rationalist meetup. We have religious people at the Effective Altruism meetup at Stanford, which is pretty closely associated with rationalism.
I think you shouldn’t worry about it
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Thanks for the clarifications on rationalism. My concern was not really one of fear, but rather had to do with the possibility of, as someone committed to a particular faith tradition, being perceived as some sort of infiltrator with suspect motives. I will continue to investigate the nature of this movement. I’ve taken a closer look at LW and will have a gander at some of the other links as well.
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What kind of suspect motives? If you’re worried people will think you’re a spy or something, most of us don’t think we really have secrets someone could and would want to steal. If you’re worried people will think you’re going to try to pester them into converting, I think you have to actually start doing that before most people will start suspecting you of that.
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Yes, pestering about converting is the typical thing I think I would be likely to be suspected of, were I to be forthright about my religious convictions. That’s not something I do with any of my atheist/agnostic friends, btw. But one-on-one situations where stances on these matters are foreknown will differ from group situations whose pretext may center in some measure on skepticism toward religion. Which is why I’m asking.
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The LessWrong-style rationalists are fairly distinct from RationalWiki types. LW-rationalists are more focused on general rationality (trying to think in ways that correspond to reality) than skepticism as regards any specific beliefs.
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Should religious adherents worry that atheists will pester them to leave religion?
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Yeah, I don’t think people will immediately assume you’re trying to convert them.
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I will be there.
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Practical question: What floor of the library?
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Not really sure. We reserved the Freespace meeting room, and this will be our first time meeting there. I’m hoping for signs. Alternately, it is a library, so there are people who have the job of fielding questions. Ask for the Freespace or LessWrong Ann Arbor, and someone should be able to point you the way.
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I just talked to a librarian. The meeting room is located on the third floor.
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It is/will be open? Oh good.
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I find the idea of a rationalist meet-up in a library oddly satisfying to contemplate. Wishing you all a good time!
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I could host on the 21st — house in Brooklyn.
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I’m out. Something else came up.
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Similar to most prior commenters, I would love to attend such a meet up on the 21st but lack the space to host one.
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