I'm not sure how to interpret this information. So there's recognition that there's a problem, at least. Should this encourage or discourage me from signing up?

The objective of the conference appears to be to build/strengthen a young cryonicist community in the US. If you think this is a good idea, your objective should be to make close friends there, especially among people that you expect to interact with more frequently in the future (people living near you, working in your industry etc).

My advice is that you should not feel as if you need to get to know all 40 participants and the X number of organizers. Three days is not a whole lot of time, but it is enough to get to know some people quite well. The program looks structured in a way to help you screen people easily (emphasis on group introductions) and then give you space to go hang out with them, so identify the (5~10) people you think are worth investing time in getting to know first. Do not attempt to get to know everyone, you just don't have the time or energy for that.

You could tattoo it across your chest, Memento-style and see it every time you shower. That might help you remember.

Hmm. It might be useful to repeat Yvain's survey to see if there's been any change, while adding the edu/work stuff in.

Yes, I'm happy to work on this and make a google form.

The questions would be very basic demographic stuff like age, gender, occupation, highest level of education attained, fields of study, country of residence...

The next step would be getting a high participation.

I agree completely. Exercise is not something that I enjoy intrinsically. It often comes down to sheer willpower to delay slowing down on the treadmill or finish the last set of reps, and willpower is sometimes lacking, even though I can rationally foresee the benefits of having a ripped, jacked body. Yes, endorphins are supposed to kick in and provide a positive feedback loop, but apparently not one strong enough to make me feel happy about going to the gym. I would be very interested in being able to make all of this less miserable.

But my reference point for feelings tends to shift over time...

I agree with you that its a false dichotomy, but I'm not entirely sure that I can become friends with a girl on OKC who is not otherwise attracted to me. In my mind, she's not here looking for friends, she's looking for potential suitors, and if I'm not one, she simply doesn't respond or responds in a perfunctory manner, and never invests the time that would be required to make a new friend. If she does, our friendship is tainted by the knowledge that I am attracted to her (otherwise I wouldn't have contacted her in the first place), and then we're in the age old question from countless romcom chick flicks.

Yes, it's possible, but if the objective is to maximize close friendships made per time spent socializing, OKC is not the most efficient way to do so. meetup.com is.

Keep an open mind, you might be surprised. There might be a few thoughtful libertarians there just because its a focal point for people of that persuasion.

If you're in a low activity area, that might mean that you have to take more initiative and be more of a leader/organizer in making things happen. Create your own Rationalist community :)

OKC is probably not a good venue for making friends since that's not what most people signing up for it primarily intend. The context of interaction is tainted with romance.