This meetup is about pulling ropes sideways. We'll be practicing the mental motion of noticing when a question has been incorrectly polarized into two options, and breaking out of the framing to get more alternatives. After a brief discussion of the concept and the mindset, we'll practice by playing the Contrarian Positions Game. In the Contrarian Positions Game, the group gets a topic and everyone has two minutes to come up with answers to it. In each round, you score a point for each answer which matches an answer at least one other persons gave, minus one point for each answer which two-thirds of the group gave but which you didn't, to a minimum of zero (your overall score is the sum of your scores in each round where you got a positive number of points). Cambridge/Boston-area Less Wrong meetups start at 3:30pm on the 1st and 3rd Sunday at the Citadel in Porter Sq, at 98 Elm St, apt 1, Somerville. Our default schedule is as follows:

—Phase 1: Arrival, greetings, unstructured conversation. This starts at 3:30; before then, Citadel residents will be busy. Looking forward to seeing you at 3:30!
—Phase 2: The headline event. This starts promptly at 4pm, and lasts 30-60 minutes.
—Phase 3: Further discussion. We'll explore the ideas raised in phase 2, often in smaller groups.
—Phase 4: Dinner.