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Meetup : Buffalo Meetup
dac6900

Hey, I'm in Rochester, and, though it's hard to get to Buffalo, I'd really like to work on rationality skills with others. Do you have meetings in Buffalo often, and how should I stay in the loop about them?

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0mare-of-night
I'm looking at starting a meetup in Rochester (or possibly on the RIT campus). Are you still interested in attending? If you are, I can give you a poke on this comment thread when I have something more specific posted.
Welcome to Less Wrong! (July 2012)
dac69280

Hello, everyone!

I'd been religious (Christian) my whole life, but was always plagued with the question, "How would I know this is the correct religion, if I'd grown up with a different cultural norm?" I concluded, after many years of passive reflection, that, no, I probably wouldn't have become Christian at all, given that there are so many good people who do not. From there, I discovered that I was severely biased toward Christianity, and in an attempt to overcome that bias, I became atheist before I realized it.

I know that last part is a comm... (read more)

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-3jacoblyles
Welcome! The least attractive thing about the rationalist life-style is nihilism. It's there, it's real, and it's hard to handle. Eliezer's solution is to be happy and the nihilism will leave you alone. But if you have a hard life, you need a way to spontaneously generate joy. That's why so many people turn to religion as a comfort when they are in bad situations. The problem that I find is that all ways to spontaneously generate joy have some degree of mysticism. I'm looking into Tai Chi as a replacement for going to church. But that's still eastern mumbo-jumbo as opposed to western mumbo-jumbo. Stoicism might be the most rational joy machine I can find. Let me know if you ever un-convert.