Meetup : Melbourne, practical rationality

0 matt 21 July 2013 07:46PM

Discussion article for the meetup : Melbourne, practical rationality

WHEN: 02 August 2013 07:00:00PM (+1000)

WHERE: 491 King Street, West Melbourne VIC 3003, Australia

Practical rationality. This meetup repeats on the 1st Friday of each month and is distinct from our social meetup on the 3rd Friday of each month.

Topics for August:

  • CfAR Melbourne workshop in February - how to help lock this in
  • Melbourne Effective Altruism progress report & next actions
  • Rationality Hacks hosted by Brayden

Discussion: http://groups.google.com/group/melbourne-less-wrong

All welcome from 6:30pm. Call the phone number on the door and I'll let you in.

 

ETA 2013-07-23: Rationality Hacks hosted by Brayden is our new proposed activity, subject to change by popular outcry on the night.

 

Discussion article for the meetup : Melbourne, practical rationality

Book: AKA Shakespeare (an extended Bayesian investigation)

-1 matt 28 June 2013 04:34PM

Disclaimer: I have not read this book. I'm posting it in the expectation that others may enjoy it as much as I'm sure I would if I had time to read it myself.

This looks interesting as an extended worked example of Bayesian reasoning (the "scientific approach" of the title).

AKA Shakespeare: A Scientific Approach to the Authorship Question

The goal of AKA Shakespeare is to analyze the Shakespeare Authorship Question in such a way that you, Dear Reader, can review the evidence for yourself and come to your own conclusions. You will be presented with three candidates for the great playwright and poet whom we know as “Shakespeare.” He was either the gentleman from Stratford-upon-Avon (referred to as “Stratford”), Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford (referred to as “Oxford”), or a vague “somebody else” (such as Christopher Marlowe, Henry Neville, etc., referred to as “Ignotus”). The book is built around 25 key questions. Concerning education, for instance, you are asked to infer Shakespeare's education level from his writings, and to compare that with the known (or more-or-less known, or speculated) education levels of Stratford, Oxford, and Ignotus. For each question, you are asked to express your opinions numerically. Rather than say “I strongly believe …,” you say, for instance, “I give 10 to 1 odds that … You then enter your numbers in a chart in the book. Alternatively and preferably, you enter your numbers in the companion website aka-Shakespeare.com which contains a program, “Prospero,” who will process your entries and return your resulting conclusions, expressed as probabilities that Shakespeare was Stratford, or Oxford, or Ignotus. To accommodate a mix of information, debate, and speculation, AKA Shakespeare is written as a dialog involving four fictional characters who meet, drink, and talk in interesting locations—from Napa Valley to Big Sur—in Northern California. Beatrice, a professor of English literature, begins as a committed Stratfordian. Claudia, a detective-story writer, is skeptical. Her husband James (a once-successful engineer, now a less successful vintner) helps to identify the relevant questions. Martin is the scientist who develops and applies the necessary analytical procedures. (To see their portraits and biographies, open up aka-Shakespeare.com.) Beatrice and Claudia end up agreeing that the leading candidate is de Vere, with Ignotus second and Stratford a very distant third. Beatrice’s entries lead to a final probability of 10−13 (one chance in ten million million) that Shakespeare was the gentleman from Stratford-upon-Avon. Claudia’s entries lead to an even smaller probability. James ends with the wry remark: “We—in our smug presumed wisdom—wonder how any men or women could possibly have been so foolish as to believe that the Earth was flat. Maybe, in a hundred years’ time, people will wonder how otherwise sensible men and women could have believed that the works of Shakespeare were written by a butcher’s apprentice from a small town in Warwickshire!” You are encouraged to review the evidence for yourself. You may find that you agree with Beatrice, Claudia, and James. On the other hand, you may not.

http://amzn.com/0984261419

 

Edited to add:
There are many signs in the above block of text that this book is not up to Lesswrong standards. As gwern suggests, reading it should be done with an adversarial attitude.
I propose some more useful goals than finding someone for whom we can cheer loudly as a properly qualified member of our tribe: find worked examples that let you practice your art; find structured activities that will actually lead you to practice your art; try to critically assess arguments that use the tools we think powerful, then discuss your criticism on a forum like Lesswrong where your errors are likely to be discovered and your insights are likely to be rewarded (with tasty karma).

Meetup : Melbourne, practical rationality

0 matt 26 May 2013 07:07PM

Discussion article for the meetup : Melbourne, practical rationality

WHEN: 07 June 2013 07:00:00PM (+1000)

WHERE: 491 King Street, West Melbourne VIC 3003, Australia

NOTE: We've moved a stone's throw from our old office. Note the new address (which is unchanged from May, but changed from April).

Practical rationality. This meetup repeats on the 1st Friday of each month and is distinct from our social meetup on the 3rd Friday of each month.

Topic for June: Hypothetical Apostasies - bring a written down belief you think it likely that at least several other attendees will share but that just might be wrong http://lesswrongmelbourne.uservoice.com/forums/203428-general/suggestions/3881488-small-groups-hypothetical-apostasies (http://wiki.lesswrong.com/mediawiki/images/c/ca/How_to_Run_a_Successful_Less_Wrong_Meetup_Group.pdf p23)

Discussion: http://groups.google.com/group/melbourne-less-wrong

All welcome from 6:30pm. Call the phone number on the door and I'll let you in.

Discussion article for the meetup : Melbourne, practical rationality

Meetup : Melbourne, practical rationality

0 matt 22 April 2013 01:34AM

Discussion article for the meetup : Melbourne, practical rationality

WHEN: 03 May 2013 07:00:00PM (+1000)

WHERE: 491 King Street, West Melbourne VIC 3003, Australia

NOTE: We've moved a stone's throw from our old office. Note the new address.

Practical rationality. This meetup repeats on the 1st Friday of each month and is distinct from our social meetup on the 3rd Friday of each month.

Topic for May: Rationality therapy - bring questions or decisions for the group to help solve http://lesswrongmelbourne.uservoice.com/forums/203428-general/suggestions/3876671-small-groups-rationality-therapy

Discussion: http://groups.google.com/group/melbourne-less-wrong

All welcome from 6:30pm. Call the phone number on the door and I'll let you in.

Discussion article for the meetup : Melbourne, practical rationality

Meetup : Melbourne, practical rationality

1 matt 24 March 2013 02:20PM

Discussion article for the meetup : Melbourne, practical rationality

WHEN: 05 April 2013 07:00:00PM (+1100)

WHERE: 55 Walsh Street, West Melbourne VIC 3003, Australia

Practical rationality. This meetup repeats on the 1st Friday of each month and is distinct from our social meetup on the 3rd Friday of each month.

Discussion: http://groups.google.com/group/melbourne-less-wrong

All welcome from 6:30pm. Call the phone number on the door and I'll let you in.

Discussion article for the meetup : Melbourne, practical rationality

Meetup : Melbourne, practical rationality

3 matt 18 February 2013 11:00PM

Discussion article for the meetup : Melbourne, practical rationality

WHEN: 01 March 2013 07:00:00PM (+1100)

WHERE: 55 Walsh Street, West Melbourne VIC 3003, Australia

Practical rationality. This meetup repeats on the 1st Friday of each month and is distinct from our social meetup on the 3rd Friday of each month.

Discussion: http://groups.google.com/group/melbourne-less-wrong

All welcome from 6:30pm. Call the phone number on the door and I'll let you in.

Discussion article for the meetup : Melbourne, practical rationality

Meetup : Melbourne, practical rationality

1 matt 18 January 2013 01:23AM

Discussion article for the meetup : Melbourne, practical rationality

WHEN: 01 February 2013 07:00:00PM (+1100)

WHERE: 55 Walsh Street, West Melbourne VIC 3003, Australia

Practical rationality. This meetup repeats on the 1st Friday of each month and is distinct from our social meetup on the 3rd Friday of each month.

Discussion: http://groups.google.com/group/melbourne-less-wrong (we'll discuss an organised activity for the night here, so jump in)

All welcome from 6:30pm. Call the phone number on the door and I'll let you in.

Discussion article for the meetup : Melbourne, practical rationality

Meetup : Melbourne, practical rationality

2 matt 28 December 2012 05:08PM

Discussion article for the meetup : Melbourne, practical rationality

WHEN: 04 January 2013 07:00:00PM (+1100)

WHERE: 55 Walsh St West Melbourne 3003

Practical rationality. This meetup repeats on the 1st Friday of each month and is distinct from our social meetup on the 3rd Friday of each month.

Discussion: http://groups.google.com/group/melbourne-less-wrong

All welcome from 6:30pm. Call the phone number on the door and I'll let you in.

Discussion article for the meetup : Melbourne, practical rationality

Meetup : Melbourne, practical rationality

1 matt 21 November 2012 12:44AM

Discussion article for the meetup : Melbourne, practical rationality

WHEN: 07 December 2012 07:00:00PM (+1100)

WHERE: 55 Walsh St West Melbourne 3003

Practical rationality. This meetup repeats on the 1st Friday of each month and is distinct from our social meetup on the 3rd Friday of each month.

Discussion: http://groups.google.com/group/melbourne-less-wrong

All welcome from 6:30pm. Call the phone number on the door and I'll let you in.

Discussion article for the meetup : Melbourne, practical rationality

Meetup : Melbourne, practical rationality

1 matt 24 October 2012 11:11PM

Discussion article for the meetup : Melbourne, practical rationality

WHEN: 02 November 2012 07:00:00PM (+1100)

WHERE: 55 walsh st west melbourne 3003 australia

Practical rationality. This meetup repeats on the 1st Friday of each month and is distinct from our social meetup on the 3rd Friday of each month.

Discussion: http://groups.google.com/group/melbourne-less-wrong

All welcome from 6:30pm. Call the phone number on the door and I'll let you in.

Discussion article for the meetup : Melbourne, practical rationality

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