Desperate help required

0 Post author: Goobahman 12 July 2011 07:26AM

I'll cut to the chase:

 

Running a Less Wrong-like self development group tonight and have failed to prepare anything insofar. starts in 2 hours.

 

Any games that I could pull out that will interaction and critical thinking?

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Comments (7)

Comments (7)

Comment author: Morendil 12 July 2011 08:53:24AM 12 points [-]

"Group, tonight your task is to design a self development exercise."

Comment author: Dorikka 12 July 2011 03:44:06PM 3 points [-]

Witty, but my head would almost crash into my hands when I heard this if I didn't think the speaker was really really smart so that I could trust that the exercise would be instructive in a particular, useful way. If I don't trust the speaker that much, they need to start giving me specific concrete things related to self-development or I'll not be very confident in their ability to help me.

Comment author: Morendil 12 July 2011 03:53:22PM 2 points [-]

It's too late by now to help the OP, but a few points need mentioning:

  • If you self-describe as "running" the group, you have taken on some responsibility for preparing ahead of time; no advice any of us gives the OP is going to change that, or change that they are to some extent delinquent.
  • Just how much responsibility depends primarily on the expectations you have set up among participants; are they in fact expecting you to have a rehearsed, structured activity to offer them at the meeting ?
  • If expectations are low, pulling this kind of trick isn't so bad; it can help place the group in a reflective frame of mind, and at the very least pave the way for discussions of how "meta" it's rational to go.
  • Irrespective of expectations, the above can be much more than a "trick" - the book Software for Your Head that I mentioned elsewhere arose from several iterations of essentially the above exercise. However, careful preparation, well ahead of time, would still be valuable if you picked that option.
Comment author: paulfchristiano 12 July 2011 08:26:29AM *  4 points [-]

I recommend paranoid debating / the Aumann game / calibration exercises with trivia (answer trivia questions with confidence intervals).

Comment author: Benquo 12 July 2011 12:26:33PM 0 points [-]

Wits and Wagers has lots of good quantitative questions for calibration exercises.

The same equipment lets you play the updating game (divide into small groups, come up with point estimates individually, then update on others' numbers and see whether on average it moved you closer),

Comment author: thakil 12 July 2011 09:44:13AM 2 points [-]

Werewolf? Making correct assessments of other's behaviour and avoiding group think are useful rational lessons. Its also fun!

Comment author: Manfred 12 July 2011 07:39:19PM *  1 point [-]

You could get people to do my magical exercise of power.

EDIT: Oh shoot, AM, not PM. Hah.

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