Hi! I've been lurking here for maybe 6 months, and I wanted to finally step out and say hello, and thank you! This site has helped to shape huge parts of my worldview for the better and improved my life in general to boot. I just want to make a list of a few of the things I've learned since coming here which I never would have otherwise, as nearly as I can tell.

• I've dropped the frankly silly beliefs I held as an evangelical Christian; I wasn't as bad as most in that category but in hindsight that was just due to luck and strong logical skills. (I knew better than to assert that everyone should [know that they should] believe, but nonetheless I chose to follow a harmful "morality")
• I've learned how to argue effectively and identify real disagreements as opposed to simple definitional disputes, or asking the wrong question. I've used this to resolve a long-standing (think years) dispute with my cousin about the application of the word "literally" as it relates to hyperbole
• I've realized that intelligence isn't just a fun party trick; I can use it directly to improve my life. Instrumental rationality was something that just never crossed my mind before coming here; intellect made me a good programmer but it sucked that I couldn't get girls. Now I've been actively dieting and getting exercise just because I suddenly realized that I can actually improve my life, if I try.
• In a similar vein, akrasia is a thing I can fight, and a thing I can fight smart. If just jumping in and doing doesn't work, I have options.
• Cryonics exists, like, right now. I can go out and buy immortality (or at least a decent chance of a really long life). That's a huge deal to me.
• There are other people who think the same way I do. I always had trouble finding any combination of intelligence and epistemically rationality, plus the desire to talk about relevant topics using those skills. I knew, realistically, that I couldn't be that exceptional, but I had trouble finding evidence to disprove it (not that I looked that well, mind you).
• Polyamory (sp?) is a real thing that real people do, not just a cool idea from a story. I haven't made any use of the observation yet, but it tends to mesh well with many of my intuitions about romance.
• Did I really just almost forget the basic premise of this site? I've become, in general, less wrong (epistemic rationality). Quantum Mechanics are awesome!
• Probably a bunch of stuff that isn't coming to mind at the moment.

Anyway, for all of that and more, thanks! This site has influenced me more than anything or anyone else ever has. It's really difficult to describe what it feels like to be less wrong and know exactly how and why, but I guess you guys probably know anyway.

And a few questions. First, I noticed that there's a meetup in Austin but not in the (much larger) Houston area. Is this just a lack of members in the area (this is the Bible Belt after all) or just because no one's tried to start one? Second, and there may be a thread already devoted to this somewhere, but what are some good math or computer science books I should look for? I already know the basics of calculus and I can throw my own solutions together for most harder problems but I'd like to get a stronger understanding of higher level math and computer algorithms to use it. And third, are there any other websites/ blogs (besides OB) that have a similar tone/community to this one, though perhaps on different topics, which anyone would recommend?