There are a few causes that have the potential to do lots of good in the world per dollar spent. Global poverty is a problem that is:

-Neglected (so there are lots of low-hanging fruit) -Large-scale (billions are affected by it) -Progress is easy to measure

We'll talk about the problem, what some of the most effective solutions are and which organisations seem to be doing the best work towards improving the conditions of the poorest people on the planet.

The end of a year is the perfect time to review one’s life, goals, plans, and projects, as well as plan for the upcoming year. Alex Vemeer has been fine-tuning his own review process for several years, and it's a great model to start with. We'll take some time to brainstorm how 2014 went for us, what went great, what needs improvement, and we'll set some milestones for 2015.

Come relax on a Saturday afternoon/evening, there's bound to be some great conversation, fun games and new friends! I'm thinking of doing something like playing the game Werewolf, or maybe we can play the Clicker game (if you don't know either of these games, you'll see, they're really fun).

If you have any trouble finding the place, send me a PM and I'll send you my phone number.

Charisma isn't just "something you're born with"; it's a specific set of behaviors that can be learned by anyone. You can practice these skills, and work on the three main areas of charisma: presence, power and warmth.

I'll present some of the exercises found in The Charisma Myth: How Anyone Can Master the Art and Science of Personal Magnetism (by Olivia Fox Cabane), and we'll see if we can find some fun ways of practicing!

If anyone has any good ideas for locations, please let me know; ideally, we would want a location where we can talk loudly without fear of bothering anyone. If the weather permits, we could do it outside.

There are lots of little things you can do to gain massive improvements in your life, and some of these tricks aren't widely known. Let's pool together any life hacks we've accumulated over the years, for the benefit of everyone. Hopefully, everyone will leave with something new to try!

The meetup is in a different room than the last few times; I'll update the event once I know exactly where it is. If anyone can't find it, PM me and I'll give you my phone number.

Unfortunately, the meetup has to be cancelled; hopefully it can be done soon. Apologies for the last-second cancellation.

There's a question that you may sometimes ask yourselves when you are having an argument with someone: "Wait a minute...what are we ACTUALLY disagreeing about, exactly?" Sometimes, we get so lost in a web of ideas that we've lost track of which way points to reality. We'll be looking at some more 5-second-level mental skills, this time aimed at clarifying what you're discussing and clearing up confusion that can be caused by the way we use words. The human brain has a particular method of classifying things using words; although it does its job very well most of the time, sometimes this classification method just doesn't work. We'll try to recognize situations where words might be confusing us, and how we can fix this. The location worked out well last time, so we'll stick with it for this time. I'll confirm which pod once it's reserved. Here are the instructions as posted last time: Due to construction, you need to: -Enter the McLennan Library (the building on the northeast corner of McTavish and Sherbrooke, street view of the entrance: https://maps.google.com/?ll=45.503599,-73.576131&spn=0.001746,0.004128&t=m&z=19&layer=c&cbll=45.503583,-73.576193&panoid=42_osk2KlEyXwc_eJsOYXQ&cbp=12,143.89,,0,11.22) -Head towards the Redpath library (the building directly north of the McLennan library; so you need to turn right twice right after you walk in) -On the left, there is a door leading towards some stairs (there should be signs for Cybertheque or something similar). Go down one level. -You are now in a library with a bunch of glass "pods" in the middle. We are in POD 4 (the names are on the doors). These directions might be very confusing, so don't hesitate to message me and I'll provide my phone number so you can call me.

Montreal Less Wrong won't be meeting officially over the holidays due to several of us having busy schedules. However, send me a message on Less Wrong if you want to meet some fellow Less Wrongers over the holidays! In January, we'll be having a meetup intended for newcomers to rationality. We'll look at some concrete 5-second level mental skills that can help us overcome mental obstacles to actually updating on evidence. Here's the description from the meetup.com page: People aren't very good at changing their minds when their ideas are challenged. Have you ever been in an argument with someone, and no matter how much evidence you showed them that they were wrong, they would just become more and more convinced that YOU are the one who's wrong? That is a common human trait called reactance, where trying to get people to change their minds polarizes them in the other direction. That's one example out of several cognitive biases that can prevent us from realizing we're wrong, and this can sometimes have disastrous consequences. We'll take a look at some classic biases that might prevent us from updating our opinions, and try to pin down specific mental skills you can use to fix your thinking and actually update on evidence. Let me know if the date is good with everyone; the venue is subject to change once we have a better idea of how many people we'll be. Hope to see you there!

After taking a break for the summer, Montreal LessWrong is once again going to start meeting up regularly. We'll be moving towards more structured content this time around, based on feedback from members. First meetup will be more meta-level stuff, planning location, times, ideas for meetups and so on. The exact location hasn't been determined yet. Message me and I'll let you know ASAP.

Edit: The meetup will take place in Music - Room A301 (527 Sherbrooke Street West). Message me if you have any difficulty finding it.