Comment author: orthonormal 25 May 2013 06:03:50PM 31 points [-]

I do hope you asked some particular person to watch your bag for you, which dramatically cuts down on the probability that someone would steal it: ordinary people really do take such an assignment seriously, so you'd be reducing the chances from "someone in the bar is a thief" to "either this particular person is a thief, or this particular person is indifferent to social expectations and someone else is a thief".

Comment author: purplerabbits 26 May 2013 01:53:43PM 1 point [-]

Good point, it's what I would usually do and I shall remember to do that in future

Collecting expressions of interest in a rationality conference in August

19 purplerabbits 25 May 2013 10:58AM

On the principle of organising events that I want to attend myself, I would very much like to organise a rationality conference/convention in the UK. I organise events for a living; in addition, in my free time I've organised five ~200 person weekend conventions and several other events.

At the moment I am thinking of a one day event on a weekend or a Friday in August, at Stamford Bridge or somewhere else easy to get to around London. There would probably also be a pre-conference dinner, or private bar night with music.

Costs would be in the region of £50-£100 a head including lunch.

Can I get a show of hands to see if the idea is viable?

Comments (22)

Be a little bit more trusting than most people think sensible

10 purplerabbits 25 May 2013 10:31AM

I am just working on a list of rationalist rules I live by, and this is the one I have most confidence in, so it seems a good topic for my first ever post (which will be short as I have to be on a train in 15)

Since people routinely exaggerate risk, and social norms pull us towards the crabs in a bucket effect (especially for women) I want to correct for that. (Preferably without ending up with a giant Rob Me sign over my head, but that's not the direction I err in.)

For example, there was this rationalist walked into a bar. I had a lot of luggage - everything I need for a four day break, including over two thousand pounds worth of electronic devices and binoculars. I am insured, but it would be an especially annoying time to lose stuff. I had a coffee and then I needed the bathroom, which was far away through a lot of people.

I knew logically how little risk there was in leaving all my stuff; a Highland bar in the middle of the afternoon is even safer than where I live in Edinburgh, and no-one was pinging any alarm bells, but I still spent more time than I'd like to admit convincing myself I didn't have to drag the huge bag with me to the ladies and back. Yes brain, even though I'm alone, and the customers are men, and I'm a middle aged woman, and my mother would freak if she saw me... 

Of course it was fine, like it was the last  hundred times. One day I hope to not even have to persuade myself, but meanwhile I notice my prediction was correct and feel just a little bit pleased with myself. 

Comments (28)
Comment author: scaphandre 10 July 2012 04:33:13AM *  0 points [-]

I am glad to see there is interest, even if you can't make this one.

I'm happy with outside 9-5, but I know some would-be regulars have other events on several weekday evenings. How about Sundays?

Aspen is unlikely to be too crowded on a Friday lunchtime and I think will be happy to have any custom from our group. I am open to alternatives, but it has the advantages of: public place, free entry, big group tables, bright, cheap-ish food and coffee, (hopefully) uncrowded.

I am happy to host in future, but I thought a public place is better to start with.

Comment author: purplerabbits 11 July 2012 09:34:19PM 0 points [-]

Sundays could well be doable. And I agree about a public place at first.

In response to Useful maxims
Comment author: purplerabbits 11 July 2012 09:23:48PM 13 points [-]

When you come to move, and a thing you're planning to move is still in a box since the last move, throw it out.

If you are keeping a thing 'because it might come in handy' and the occasion arises when it WOULD have been handy except you forget you have it, throw it out.

On smaller purchases I note that I have a danger zone of between £3 and £8 where it's easy to just spend money without discernible benefit (it's no coincidence that this equals about a coffee and a bun in Starbucks). So I have a rule that unless it's something I actually need Right Now, I make a maximum of one such purchase per non-working day.

Comment author: purplerabbits 09 July 2012 03:28:10PM 0 points [-]

Sadly I can't make this even though I am extremely keen to attend a regular local meetup. I think it could be worth organising a meeting outside normal working hours and avoiding talking about students in the announcement. What do you think?

I'd also love to meet somewhere quieter that doesn't require expenditure, but that may be asking a bit much to start with...

Comment author: David_Gerard 22 May 2012 03:58:39PM *  1 point [-]

Is there such a thing as a desire that's actually just stupid? I'm not sure that's possible in a world where humans are just one possible sort of evolved intelligence and metamorality is per-species. But within humanity, can we say someone's values are in fact stupid? Irrational?

Comment author: purplerabbits 23 May 2012 05:38:36PM 2 points [-]

Yes. The obvious one to me is that it is totally irrational of me to want to eat pile of sweets that I know from previous experience will make me feel bad about myself ten minutes after eating it and which I rationally don't need nutritionally. I can make myself not do it, but to make myself not want to is like trying to not see an optical illusion...

Comment author: purplerabbits 19 January 2012 06:04:20PM 17 points [-]

Hi, I'm Alison - I used to be a professional tarot reader and astrologer in spite of having a (fairly average) science degree. I recovered from that over 15 years ago and feel it would be valuable for more people to understand how I came to do it and how I changed my mind. I am also a 45 year old woman, which makes me feel in a tiny minority on LW.

I've been reading large chunks of the sequences for the last year, as well as books like Risk: The Science and Politics of Fear and a bunch of rationalist blogs (and been thoroughly sucked into HPMOR).

Topics I'm particularly interested in include day to day rationality, tackling global warming, rationality from the perspective of people with mental health issues and tackling irrationality while maintaining polite and less arrogant discourse.

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