Astral Codex Ten

Berkeley

84 min read

Berkeley

Article

Berkeley is a recurring place in the Astral Codex Ten archive, appearing 79 times across 79 issues between February 24, 2021 and April 01, 2026. The archive places it in contexts such as “started like this: Berkeley”; “though Amherst or Berkeley is acceptable if absolutely necessary”; “The Butcher’s Son A “vegan delicatessan and bakery” in Berkeley”. It most often appears alongside ACX, Astralcodexten Com, Boston.

Metadata

  • Category: Places
  • Mention count: 79
  • Issue count: 79
  • First seen: February 24, 2021
  • Last seen: April 01, 2026

Appears In

Source Context

Recovered passages from the original issue text. When the raw archive preserved outbound links inside the source passage, they are listed directly under the quote.

Book Review: Fussell On Class
February 24, 2021 · Original source
Albemarle Berkeley Cavendish Devonshire Exeter Fanshawe, etc.
A Modest Proposal For Republicans: Use The Word "Class"
February 25, 2021 · Original source
Trump stood against the upper class. He might define them as: people who live in nice apartments in Manhattan or SF or DC and laugh under their breath if anybody comes from Akron or Tampa. Who eat Thai food and Ethiopian food and anything fusion, think they would gain 200 lbs if they ever stepped in a McDonalds, and won't even speak the name Chick-Fil-A. Who usually go to Ivy League colleges, though Amherst or Berkeley is acceptable if absolutely necessary. Who conspicuously love Broadway (especially Hamilton), LGBT, education, "expertise", mass transit, and foreign anything. They conspicuously hate NASCAR, wrestling, football, "fast food", SUVs, FOX, guns, the South, evangelicals, and reality TV. Who would never get married before age 25 and have cutesy pins about how cats are better than children. Who get jobs in journalism, academia, government, consulting, or anything else with no time-card where you never have to use your hands. Who all have exactly the same political and aesthetic opinions on everything, and think the noblest and most important task imaginable is to gatekeep information in ways that force everyone else to share those opinions too.
Bay Area Plant-Based Meat Reviews
February 26, 2021 · Original source
A “vegan delicatessan and bakery” in Berkeley. According to the website:
Ike's sandwiches have names like "Lex Luthor" and "Chester the Cheetah". Crave's have names like "Iron Man" and "Donald Duck". Both chains offer the same choice of French, sourdough, Dutch cruch, wheat, and gluten-free breads. Both give you a few free lollipops in the bag with every order. Also, Ike's is located at the intersection of Shattuck and Center Streets in Berkeley; Crave's is also located at that intersection, about 400 ft away.
Eight Hundred Slightly Poisoned Word Games
August 09, 2021 · Original source
In 2012, a Berkeley team found that indoor carbon dioxide had dramatic negative effects on cognition (paper, popular article). Subjects in poorly ventilated environments did up to 50% worse on a test of reasoning and decision-making. This is potentially pretty important, because lots of office buildings (and private houses) count as poorly-ventilated environments, so a lot of decision-making might be happening while severely impaired.
Inline links: paper, popular article
I played this game about 5-10x/day over three months. During this time, the carbon dioxide monitor in my room recorded levels between 445 ppm (with all windows open and the fan on) and 3208 ppm (with all windows closed and several people crammed into the room for several hours). I discounted a stray reading of 285 as an outlier, since this is climatologically impossible (I’m not claiming my monitor is perfectly calibrated, just that it clearly shows higher levels when my room is less well ventilated). CO2 445 is basically the same as outdoors; 3208 is considered extremely poor air quality, likely to cause headaches, nausea, and other minor ailments. The Berkeley study looked at levels between 600 and 2500, so my range was comparable to theirs.
Meetups Everywhere 2021: Times And Places
August 23, 2021 · Original source
Berkeley: Saturday 8/28, 1 PM Boston: Sunday 9/5, 5 PM New York: Monday 9/6, 5 PM Washington DC: Saturday 9/11, 5 PM Lisbon: Saturday 9/18, 5 PM Madrid: Saturday 9/25, 11 AM Zurich: Sunday 9/26, 5 PM Vienna: Saturday 10/2, 1 PM Prague: Sunday 10/3, 5 PM Berlin: Saturday 10/9, 1 PM Paris: Sunday 10/10, 5 PM London: Saturday 10/16, 1 PM Oxford: Sunday 10/17, 5 PM Cambridge: Saturday 10/23, 1 PM Edinburgh: Sunday 10/24, 5 PM
BERKELEY, CA (RSVP) Contact: Mingyuan, meetupsmingyuan[at]gmail[dot]com, Facebook event Time: 1:00 PM, Saturday, August 28 Location: Lawn of Valley Life Sciences Building, UC Berkeley campus Coordinates: https://w3w.co/deflection.jump.puppy
Inline links: RSVP, Facebook event, https://w3w.co/deflection.jump.puppy
Berkeley Meetup This Saturday
August 27, 2021 · Original source
Where: deflection.jump.puppy, aka the lawn where West Circle meets Free Speech Bikeway near the UC Berkeley parking lot.
Inline links: deflection.jump.puppy
If you’re somewhere other than Berkeley, check the spreadsheet to find the closest meetup to you.
Inline links: the spreadsheet
Open Thread 187
August 29, 2021 · Original source
1: Thanks to everyone who came to the Berkeley meetup yesterday (~125 people!) and especially to the organizers (Mingyuan, Miranda, Ruby, Oli, sorry if I’m forgetting anyone). Here’s a Facebook group if you want to stay in touch about future Bay Area meetups. And I have some updates to conversations I had with people yesterday which I put in a comment below.
Inline links: a Facebook group, a comment
Berkeley Meetup This Saturday
May 06, 2022 · Original source
Why: Because we’re having spring meetups in 70 cities, and Berkeley is one of them. I’m signal-boosting this one because I’ll be able to attend.
Inline links: spring meetups in 70 cities
Where: UC Berkeley, the lawn just east of West Circle and north of Free Speech Bikeway.
Inline links: the lawn
Your Book Review: Making Nature
May 20, 2022 · Original source
“At the start of my career, nobody took much notice of where you published, and then everything changed in 1974 with Cell,” Randy Schekman, the Berkeley molecular biologist and Nobel prize winner, told me. . . . [Cell] was edited by a young biologist named Ben Lewin, who approached his work with an intense, almost literary bent. Lewin prized long, rigorous papers that answered big questions – often representing years of research that would have yielded multiple papers in other venues – and, breaking with the idea that journals were passive instruments to communicate science, he rejected far more papers than he published.
Book Review: San Fransicko
June 23, 2022 · Original source
In their reflective moments, I found that many progressives agreed that more involuntary treatment is needed. I asked progressive Berkeley homelessness advocate Boona Cheema, whose son was mentally ill and committed suicide, if we used conservatorships enough. “No, we don’t,” she said. “Somebody comes in who has been walking naked in the streets and is manic, and you take them in and then you let them out two days later. Come on. They haven’t even been stabilized!”
Your Book Review: The Outlier
July 08, 2022 · Original source
Some of the advice Carter gets is good (like when the newly-elected 33-year-old governor of Arkansas, Bill Clinton, tells Carter he needs to be a leader, not just a manager), but, as you’d expect would happen when you ask fifty people to tell you what’s wrong with you, some of it is totally off the rails. A prominent rabbi tells Carter that the real problem is Americans’ “unrestrained consumerism” and “mindless self-indulgence.” A Berkeley sociologist adds that Carter needs to “come down from the mountain with some hard truths” to help the American people “achieve personal happiness that does not depend on the endless accumulation of goods.”
Meetups Everywhere 2022: Times & Places
August 26, 2022 · Original source
I will provisionally be attending the meetups in Berkeley, Los Angeles, and San Diego. ACX meetups coordinator Mingyuan will provisionally be attending Paris and London. I’ll be announcing some of the biggest ones on the blog, regardless of whether or not I attend.
HUNTSVILLE, AL Contact: Mike, mjhouse[at]protonmail[dot]com Time: Saturday, September 3, 3:00 PM Location: Barnes & Noble – 300 The Bridge St #100, Huntsville, AL 35806. I'll be in the cafe with a sign that says ACX MEETUP on it. Coordinates: 866MP88H+53 Event link(s): LessWrong Notes: Barnes & Noble has an area for little kids. If you want to bring a service animal, that's probably fine, but I doubt they allow pets. PHOENIX, AZ Contact: Ben Morin, benjamin[dot]j[dot]morin[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Saturday, October 15, 1:00 PM Location: Thirsty Lion Pub in Tempe. I will have a table with an ACX sign. Coordinates: 8559FVVQ+6C Event link(s): LessWrong Group info: This will be our 5th meetup (started during the meetups everywhere last year). Notes: Please email if interested to be added to the email list, even if you can't make this event BELMONT, CA Contact: Moshe Z., belmont-acx[at]devskillup[dot]com Time: Sunday, September 4, 2:00 PM Location: Twin Pines Park, Picnic Tables. The table will have some sign saying 'ACX Meetup' on it. Coordinates: 849VGP8C+RRG Event link(s): LessWrong Group info: You can join the mailing list here. BERKELEY, CA Contact: Scott Time: Sunday, September 18, 1:00 PM Location: Rose Garden Inn, a rationalist event space at 2740 Telegraph Ave. Come in through the front gate on Telegraph. Coordinates: 849VVP5R+X7V Event link(s): LessWrong Group info: The Bay rationality community has a mailing list, a Discord server, and a Facebook group. There are dinner meetups every Thursday at 7 PM in the East Bay, and occasional meetups in SF and South Bay. FILLMORE, CA Contact: Ryan, wiserd[at]gmail[dot]com, Discord: Wiserd#0906 Time: Saturday, October 1st, 6:00 PM Location: It's my house. There are a bunch of plants on the porch and garbage bins in the driveway. Coordinates: 856393VX+VQ Event link(s): LessWrong Notes: Please RSVP to my email or Discord. Kids and dogs are welcome in the back yard. Full vaccinations (on the honor system) and masks required. GRASS VALLEY, CA Contact: Max Harms, raelifin[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Saturday, September 10, 2:00 PM Location: Condon Park by the prospector statue. In the case of rain we'll change the location to a residence, so RSVP to get updated! Coordinates: 84FW6W8H+C5 Event link(s): LessWrong IRVINE, CA Contact: Nick C, cohenskijanuary1[at]mail[dot]com Time: Saturday, October 1, 2:00 PM Location: University Town Center Coordinates: 8554M526+7H Event link(s): LessWrong Group info: We meet once a month at the same location. LOS ANGELES, CA Contact: Vishal Prasad (koreindian), vprasadcs[at]gmail[dot]com, Contact me on Discord. I am "Vishal" on the server. Time: Saturday, October 8, 6:30 PM Location: 11841 Wagner St., Culver City, CA 90039 Coordinates: 8553XHWM+GP Event link(s): LessWrong Group info: We meet weekly every Wednesday. We have been around for over 8 years. We discuss articles, watch movies, lift weights. We have a Discord server, a LessWrong group, and a website! Notes: Please RSVP on LessWrong so I know how much food to get. NEWPORT BEACH, CA Contact: Michael M, michaelmichalchik[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Saturday, August 27, 2:00 PM Location: Picnic tables next to 1900 Port Carlow community clubhouse. The park is verdant and pleasant and easy to access. Free street parking nearby. In case of bad weather, we have a couple of near by places to relocate to. Coordinates: 8554J48R+WCX Event link(s): LessWrong, Facebook event Group info: We will meet most Saturdays at 2pm until whenever. There will be short suggested readings and question most weeks to spur conversation, but they are optional. Each week we will ask if people have had something happen recently that surprised them or changed the way they looked at the world. Something that should or did update their priors. Participation is optional. Notes: Its a public park with tables and BBQ's so you can bring food and well behaved pets. We may regularly go on casual walks in the surrounding area. SAN DIEGO, CA Contact: Julius, julius[dot]simonelli[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Sunday, October 9, 3:00 PM Location: We will meet up in Bird Park. I will be wearing a red shirt. Coordinates: 8544PVQ8+Q7 Event link(s): LessWrong, Meetup.com Group info: Join our Discord server SAN FRANCISCO, CA Contact: Derek Pankaew, derekpankaew[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Sunday, September 18, 11:00 AM Location: We'll between in the Panhandle, between Ashbury and Masonic, with a 'ACX' sign. Coordinates: 849VQHC3+V8 Event link(s): LessWrong SAN JOSE, CA Contact: David Friedman, ddfr[at]daviddfriedman[dot]com Time: Saturday, September 17, 2:00 PM Location: 3806 Williams Rd, San Jose, CA 95117 Coordinates: 849W825J+6P Event link(s): LessWrong Group info: Before Covid we hosted every month or two. No structure, just conversation and food. We feed everyone who is still there at dinner time. We have done it once or twice since Covid. I have an email list of interested people. Notes: Kids are welcome. Please RSVP to my email so I will have a rough count of how many we are feeding. SAN MARCOS, CA Contact: Eric F., EricF14159[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Sunday, September 25, 2:00 PM Location: Hollandia Park Soccer Field. At the tables near the top parking lot. Coordinates: 85544VW4+RV Event link(s): LessWrong BOULDER, CO Contact: Josh Sacks, josh[dot]sacks+acx[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Sunday, October 16, 3:00 PM Location: 9191 Tahoe Ln, Boulder, CO 80301 Coordinates: 85GP2V96+JQ Event link(s): LessWrong Notes: Please RSVP on LessWrong so we know ~ how many people to expect! CARBONDALE, CO Contact: Nick, naj[at]njarboe[dot]com Time: Saturday, September 3, 1:00 PM Location: Sopris Park - Center covered picnic tables - blue shirt with ACX sign on table Coordinates: 85FJ9QXP+QMF Event link(s): LessWrong DENVER, CO Contact: Ian Philips, iansphilips[at]gmail[dot]com, Discord: palebone#2796 Time: Sunday, October 2, 11:00 AM Location: We'll be in the backyard patio of St. Mark's Coffee House. I'll wear a white shirt with (my brothers') baby faces on it and have a brown hat on. Coordinates: 85FQP2VP+9R Event link(s): LessWrong Group info: We meet typically 4 times a year. LAKEWOOD, CO Contact: Steven Zuber, stevenjzuber[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Wednesday, October 5, 7:00 PM Location: We meet in the clubhouse located in this townhome community: 8769 W Cornell Ave Lakewood, CO 80227 Coordinates: 85FPMW64+MW Event link(s): LessWrong, Meetup.com Group info: We meet the first Wednesday of every month. Informal, casual atmosphere with occasional presentations by people. Notes: Check the Meetup page or Facebook group for updates. FAIRFIELD, CT Contact: Justin Barclay, barclay[dot]justin[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Saturday, September 10, 10:00 AM Location: South Pine Creek Beach. I'll set up near the lifeguard stand. Coordinates: 87H84PCH+CM Event link(s): LessWrong MANCHESTER, CT Contact: Mike, park-mike[at]outlook[dot]com Time: Saturday, September 17, 5:00 PM Location: Near flagpole on top of hill Coordinates: 87H9QFFH+J7 Event link(s): LessWrong NEW HAVEN, CT Contact: RM, acx[dot]meetup[dot]nhv[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Sunday, September 18, 12:30 PM Location: Cross Campus (Yale University), New Haven, CT 06511. We'll be on the grass on the northern half of Cross Campus, closest to Sterling Memorial Library. I'll be wearing an orange shirt. Coordinates: 87H9836C+8VG Event link(s): LessWrong Notes: Feel free to bring friends! The vibe will be welcoming and relaxed, and you can stay for any amount of time. Please email me if you're thinking about coming so I can get the right number of Insomnia cookies! WASHINGTON, DC Contact: John Bennett, WashingtonDCAstralCodexTen[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Saturday, September 17, 6:00 PM Location: Froggy Bottom Pub: 2021 K Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20006 Coordinates: 87C4WX33+3J Event link(s): LessWrong, Facebook event Group info: The Washington DC ACX/SSC group has been active since the first Meetups Everywhere in 2017. We have Monthly Socials downtown, hikes, board game days, and other cultural events. We're looking to spin up more rationality Dojo-type events with nearby groups in the coming months. Notes: We've rented out the Froggy Bottom Pub for the night, dinner and soft drinks will be provided. Alcohol available for purchase if desired, but no purchases are required. Metered street parking on nearby blocks is free after 6:30. Closest Metros are Farragut West and Farragut North. CAPE CORAL / FORT MYERS, FL Contact: Shawn Spilman, shawn[dot]spilman[at]outlook[dot]com, 508 655 8123 Time: Sunday, October 2, 1:00 PM Location: 929 SW 54th Ln, Cape Coral, FL 33914 Coordinates: 76RWH224+44 Event link(s): LessWrong Notes: RSVP via email. I can be flexible about the date. GULF BREEZE / PENSACOLA, FL Contact: Christian, christian[dot]h[dot]williams[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Wednesday, October 12, 7:30 PM Location: The Bridge Bar - 33 Gulf Breeze Pkwy A, Gulf Breeze, FL 32561 Coordinates: 862J9RCF+G6 Event link(s): LessWrong Notes: Please RSVP by emailing me. Thanks! If I don't hear from anyone, I won't be there. I work for Metaculus, but promise not to talk your ear off about forecasting. (Unless you want it talked off.) MIAMI, FL Contact: Eric Magro, eric135033[at]gmail[dot]com, Discord: eric135#4943 Time: Sunday, September 11, 5:00 PM Location: Buckminster Fuller Fly's Eye Dome 140 NE 39th St #001, Miami, FL 33137 ----- Look for a paper sign on a table that says ACX MEETUP west of the dome. Coordinates: 76QXRR65+V2 Event link(s): LessWrong Group info: Miami ACX started in 2017. Our official meetup happens monthly in either Miami or Broward. There are activities happening on a weekly basis from Miami to Palm Beach. We have a Facebook group, Discord server, and Meetup.com group. ORLANDO, FL Contact: Noah Topper, noah[dot]topper[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Friday, September 16, 7:00 PM Location: 4000 Central Florida Blvd, Orlando, FL. We'll be meeting up at UCF's pavilion near Garages A and I. I'll have a pretty ACX Meetup sign. Coordinates: 76WWJQ2X+82 Event link(s): LessWrong Group info: We try to meet up once a month, so far they've just been casual social meetups with natural discussions of rationality topics. Here's our Discord link :) Notes: RSVPs on LessWrong would be greatly appreciated. :) TALLAHASSEE, FL Contact: JF, jf19o[at]fsu[dot]edu Time: Monday, August 29, 2:00 PM Location: Landis, FSU. I will be wearing a black shirt Coordinates: 862QCPR3+PX Event link(s): LessWrong ATHENS, GA Contact: Dallon, knox[dot]dallon[dot]a[at]gmail[dot]com, Discord: leonard#4208 Time: Saturday, October 15, 3:00 PM Location: Hendershots on Prince Avenue Coordinates: 865RXJ68+2W Event link(s): LessWrong Notes: I might bring some board games ATLANTA, GA Contact: Steve French, steve[at]digitaltoolfactory[dot]net Time: Saturday, September 17, 2:00 PM Location: Bold Monk Brewing - 1737 Ellsworth Industrial Blvd NW suite d-1 · Atlanta, GA (upstairs – look for the ACX Atlanta sign) Coordinates: 865QRH2F+V8 Event link(s): LessWrong, Meetup.com Group info: We've been in existence for four years – we have a dedicated crew and a very active Slack group Notes: Please RSVP on LessWrong or Meetup.com HONOLULU, HI Contact: Matt Popovich, mattpopovich[at]outlook[dot]com Time: Saturday, September 3, 4:00 PM Location: We'll meet at Magic Island at Ala Moana Beach Park, 1201 Ala Moana Blvd, Honolulu, HI 96814. From the parking lot, walk along the left side of the peninsula out toward Magic Island Lagoon. We're usually near the end of the peninsula, somewhere around the bathroom building. Look for the large 'ACX' sign. Coordinates: 73H475M3+JP Event link(s): LessWrong, Meetup.com Group info: Honolulu Rationality hosts discussion meetups about twice a month in Ala Moana Beach Park. Check us out on our website BOISE, ID Contact: Julia and John, jae[dot]miomu[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Friday, October 7, 6:00 PM Location: Old Timer's Shelter in Ann Morrison Park. I will have an ACX sign. Coordinates: 85M5JQ6P+96 Event link(s): LessWrong Notes: Please RSVP and feel free to bring kids. CHAMPAIGN-URBANA, IL Contact: Ben, cu[dot]acx[dot]meetups[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Friday, September 9, 7:00 PM Location: Siebel Center for Computer Science, Room 4403 Coordinates: 86GH4Q7G+H8F Event link(s): LessWrong Group info: Discord server Notes: RSVPs are appreciated but not at all required. You can RSVP by email or by pinging me in the Discord server. Suggested entrance is the East side of the building (see Coordinates) - we'll try to make sure at least that door is unlocked, but if it isn't then ping us on email or Discord. CHICAGO, IL Contact: Todd, info[at]chicagorationality[dot]com, https://chicagorationality.com/ Time: Sunday, September 18, 1:00 PM Location: Grant Park - North side of Balbo between the tracks and Columbus Coordinates: 86HJV9FH+84 Event link(s): LessWrong Group info: Chicago Rationality does a monthly discussion meetup (typically the first Saturday of the month) and a monthly social meetup (typically the third weekend of the month) Notes: Sign up for our email list to be notified of future meetups EVANSTON, IL Contact: Uzair, uzairq93[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Saturday, October 1, 7:00 PM Location: 626 Church Street, Evanston IL 60201 Coordinates: 86JJ28X9+5WQ Event link(s): LessWrong Notes: The venue is a pub but it's really more of a restaurant, big long tables available so space should be fine and non drinkers shouldn't feel too out of place. BLOOMINGTON, IN Contact: Avery, acxbloomington[at]fastmail[dot]com Time: Sunday, October 16, 2:00 PM Location: Switchyard Park. Will be at one of the tables near the Rogers Street parking lot. I will bring a cardboard sign that says “ACX”. Coordinates: 86FM4FX6+4Q Event link(s): LessWrong Group info: We met last year for Meetups Everywhere and it was fun! Here's a link to our Discord. Notes: You can RSVP via Discord or email, but you are encouraged to show up even if you did not RSVP! WEST LAFAYETTE, IN Contact: NR, mapreader4[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Saturday, September 17, 1:00 PM Location: 1275 1st Street, West Lafayette, IN 47906. We'll be in the south of the Earhart Hall lobby (not the dining court) near the piano, and I will be wearing a green shirt and carrying a sign with ACX MEETUP on it. Coordinates: 86GMC3GG+728 Event link(s): LessWrong LEXINGTON, KY Contact: Nathan, nwculley[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Saturday, September 3, 7:00 PM Location: Blue Stallion Brewing. 610 W. 3rd St., Lexington, KY 40508. We will have a sign indicating we are the ACX meetup. Coordinates: 86CQ3F4X+VF Event link(s): LessWrong Group info: We meet 1-2 times a month to talk about ACX, books, memes, etc., often over drinks and board games. NEW ORLEANS, LA Contact: Blake, blake[at]philosophers[dot]group Time: Sunday, September 4, 11:11 AM Location: Petite Clouet Cafe. Look for the group with an iPad that has a People’s Pint sticker. Coordinates: 76XFXX73+8R Event link(s): LessWrong Group info: Website Notes: Hybrid in-person and online, video link sent weekly. Email for the link. BOSTON, MA Contact: Robi Rahman, robirahman94[at]gmail[dot]com, 7039818526 Time: Saturday, September 10, 5:00 PM Location: Boston Common, at the Parkman Bandstand gazebo Coordinates: 87JC9W3M+PR Event link(s): LessWrong, Facebook event Group info: Mailing list, Facebook group, Meetup.com Notes: We'll be providing food at the meetup, and giving out free books related to ACX, rationality, and effective altruism. Email the hosts if you'd like a particular book or you have any dietary restrictions. Our group is also doing a tour of the JFK Presidential Library on September 9, you’re welcome to join! NORTHAMPTON, MA Contact: Alex, alex[at]alexliebowitz[dot]com Time: Friday, September 9, 6:00 PM Location: The Deck, 125A Pleasant St., Northampton MA 01096. The official address is bizarre and inaccurate; it's the outdoor dining part of a group of bars & restaurants in a former rail station... a whole block away from Pleasant St. The simplest way to get to The Deck is to enter The Platform, one of the other restaurants, by its street entrance around 36 Strong Ave., here (make sure to look at street view). Go inside and ask them to show you to The Deck. We'll have a sign. Coordinates: 87J9899F+H7H Event link(s): LessWrong, Facebook event Group info: We started in the 2018 Meetups Everywhere and is still going strong. We aim to meet about once every two weeks. At most meetups we get about 5-7 people out of a rotation of 15-20; Meetups Everywhere and other special events tend to bring in a few more than usual. We're a totally social meetup with no 'format' or suggested readings. Although it's not rare for us to touch on ACX articles and related topics, the conversation varies wildly, and you are welcome even if you're the most occasional ACX reader. Notes: We have a (not very active) Discord where you can DM me or post on a public channel. I'm most responsive by email. There is a small chance we'll have to change the location to somewhere else in Northampton. Please check the Less Wrong or Facebook posts on or after August 26 to get the final word on location. BALTIMORE, MD Contact: Rivka, rivka[at]adrusi[dot]com Time: Sunday, September 11, 7:00 PM Location: UMBC outside of the Performing Arts and Humanities Building, on the north side. I will have a sign that says ACX meetup. Parking is free on the weekends. Edit: Rain is forecasted; if it’s raining, we will be inside of the Performing Arts building, on the ground floor just inside the entrance. Coordinates: 87F5774P+53 Event link(s): LessWrong Group info: We meet Sundays at 7pm — half are in person and half are virtual. Notes: There will be pizza and drinks DETROIT, MI Contact: Matt Arnold, matt[dot]mattarn[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Tuesday, September 20, 7:00 PM Location: Tenacity Craft, 8517 2nd Ave, Detroit, MI 48202 Coordinates: 86JR9WG9+R6 Event link(s): LessWrong MINNEAPOLIS, MN Contact: Timothy, tmbond[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Saturday, September 10, 1:00 PM Location: Meet at the picnic tables near the southeast corner of Powderhorn Park - the ones by the parking lot. I will be wearing a green Google t-shirt and have a sign that says ACX. Coordinates: 86P8WPRW+76 Event link(s): LessWrong Notes: I will bring some snacks (but not a full lunch, so eat before or bring something if you'll be that hungry). Please RSVP on LessWrong. KANSAS CITY, MO Contact: Alex, alex[dot]hedtke[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Friday, September 16, 6:30 PM Location: We will be in the courtyard above Whole Foods (which is also an apartment complex). You can enter through the apartment lobby, located on Oak Street. We will have runners shepherding people from the entrance up to the courtyard. Coordinates: 86F72CM8+RR Event link(s): LessWrong, Meetup.com SAINT LOUIS, MO Contact: JohnBuridan, littlejohnburidan[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Saturday, October 8, 1:00 PM Location: Lily Pond Shelter, Tower Grove Park, St. Louis Coordinates: 86CFJP4R+XV Event link(s): LessWrong Notes: BYOB WEST PLAINS, MO Contact: Liam, liamhession[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Saturday, September 17, 12:00 PM Location: 10/40 Coffee, 24 Court Square, West Plains, MO Coordinates: 868CP4HW+CV Event link(s): LessWrong Notes: Hoping to get anyone from around the Ozark region DURHAM, NC Contact: Will Jarvis, willdjarvis[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Thursday, September 8, 7:30 PM Location: Ponysaurus Brewing Company, 219 Hood St, Durham Coordinates: 8773X4Q3+QW Event link(s): LessWrong Group info: We meet weekly! We also have a Discord LAKEWOOD, NJ Contact: Ben L, mywebdev3[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Saturday, October 29, 8:30 PM Location: TBD Event link(s): LessWrong MORRISTOWN, NJ Contact: Matt, matt[dot]brooks[at]impactmarkets[dot]io, Discord: Matt B#0216 Time: Saturday, October 1, 2:00 PM Location: 10 N Park Pl, Morristown, NJ 07960 (at the center of the Morristown Green) Coordinates: 87G7QGW9+RJ Event link(s): LessWrong Group info: This is the first meetup, come be a founding member of the Northern NJ ACX/EA/LW group! PRINCETON, NJ Contact: Danny K, dskumpf[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Saturday, October 1, 3:00 PM Location: Palmer Square, Princeton, NJ 08540. On the green right outside The Bent Spoon and Rojo's Roastary, near the big tree. I'll have some sort of ACX Meetup sign! Coordinates: 87G7982Q+2CP Event link(s): LessWrong LAS VEGAS, NV Contact: Jonathan Ray, ray[dot]jonathan[dot]w[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Sunday, September 11, 11:45 AM Location: At El Segundo Sol restaurant with giant ACX MEETUP signs Coordinates: 85864RHJ+3H Event link(s): LessWrong, Facebook event Group info: We meet regularly and mostly just socialize. We have a new Discord server. RENO, NV Contact: Steven, stevenl451[at]gmail[dot]com, Discord: Steeven#7407 Time: Friday, September 2, 5:30 PM Location: We'll be in Crissie Caughlin Park, near the tables and the swing set Coordinates: 85F2G46W+FG Event link(s): LessWrong Notes: Feel free to bring kids/dogs and please RSVP on LessWrong if you are going BUFFALO, NY Contact: George Herold, ggherold[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Sunday, September 11, 1:00 PM Location: 932 Welch Rd. Java Center, NY 14082 Coordinates: 87J3W467+8P Notes: Last-minute location change! LONG ISLAND, NY Contact: Gabe, gabeaweil[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Thursday, October 27, 7:00 PM Location: Whales Tale in Northport Coordinates: 87G8VJRW+99 Event link(s): LessWrong NEW YORK CITY, NY Contact: Jasmine, jasminermj[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Sunday, September 11, 4:00 PM Location: Pavillion @ Rockefeller Park, Warren St / River Terrace Coordinates: 87G7PX9M+4J3 Event link(s): LessWrong Group info: OBNYC has a Discord and a Google Group; the Google Group is the main mailing list we use for events NEWBURGH, NY Contact: Pedro David Bonilla, proportionatetoevidence[at]gmail[dot]com, Cell 8452001681 Time: Saturday, September 24, 10:00 AM Location: Perkins Restaurant & Bakery, 1421 NY-300, Newburgh, NY 12550 Coordinates: 87H7GWCH+GF Event link(s): LessWrong ROCHESTER, NY Contact: Skivverus, skivverus[at]gmail[dot]com, Discord: Skivverus#5915 Time: Saturday, October 8, 1:00 PM Location: 4870 Culver Road; will be wearing a polo shirt, jeans, and glasses, and may or may not have figured out a sign due to just getting back from honeymoon. Look for a pair of parrots, one white, one green with a yellow/orange head. Coordinates: 87M46FM6+Q5P Event link(s): LessWrong Notes: Venue very near amusement park; non-bathroom, non-parking amenities are therefore available but not free. Plan accordingly. Not particularly attached to specific location named, just happen to live reasonably close to there; alternative suggestions acceptable. Canadian visitors also welcome should your logistics permit; airport transportation available. RSVP via Discord preferred, but email will also work. CLEVELAND, OH Contact: Jack Zhang, LukeZhao9[at]protonmail[dot]com Time: Saturday, September 24, 1:00 PM Location: Picnic tables at Wade Oval (university circle) Coordinates: 86HWG96Q+GC5 Event link(s): LessWrong COLUMBUS, OH Contact: Daniel, daniel[dot]m[dot]adamiak[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Saturday, September 17, 3:00 PM Location: Jeffrey Park - Clinton Shelter. I will be wearing a red shirt. Coordinates: 86FVX3C3+QF Event link(s): LessWrong Group info: We meet once a month. We discuss EA, AI and other two letter initialisms. Occasionally we go for walks in local grottos and nature trails. Notes: Email me if you want to be added to the mailing list to receive any updates or future invites. RSVPing is appreciated. TOLEDO, OH Contact: Scout, scout[dot]sivar[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Saturday, September 10, 12:00 PM Location: Black Kite Coffee Coordinates: 86HRMCCV+9R Event link(s): LessWrong OKLAHOMA CITY, OK Contact: bean, battleshipbean[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Sunday, October 9, 1:00 PM Location: Edmond Public Library/Shannon Miller Park. I will be wearing a hat that says USS Iowa on it. Coordinates: 8674MG3C+MW Event link(s): LessWrong Group info: Had four people last year and a good time, moved to Edmond because a lot of us are up here. ALBANY, OR Contact: Kenan (he/him), kbitikofer[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Saturday, October 1, 2:00 PM Location: Bowman Park, Albany, Oregon. In or near the shelter. I will wear a bright red shirt and carry a sign with ACX MEETUP on it. Coordinates: 84PRJWR7+XC6 Event link(s): LessWrong CORVALLIS, OR Contact: Ethan Ashkie, ethanashkie[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Wednesday, September 7, 6:00 PM Location: Common Fields, in the reserved outdoor seating near the entrance Coordinates: 84PRHP5P+VQ Event link(s): LessWrong EUGENE, OR Contact: Ben Smith, benjsmith[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Wednesday, August 31, 7:00 PM Location: The Barn Light, 924 Willamette St, Eugene 97401 Coordinates: 84PR2WX4+VV Event link(s): LessWrong Notes: Please RSVP on LessWrong so I know how much pizza to get, but if you forget, don't worry about it, we want you to come along anyway PORTLAND, OR Contact: Sam F Celarek, support[at]pearcommunity[dot]com, 513-432-3310, Discord: Sam Celarek#2845 Time: Friday, September 9, 5:00 PM Location: 205 NW 4th Ave Coordinates: 84QVG8FG+V4 Event link(s): LessWrong, Meetup.com Group info: Portland Effective Altruism and Rationality is very active. We have book clubs, bi-weekly AI safety meet-ups, bi-weekly topical meet-ups, bi-weekly socials, and have an active Discord. Notes: We would prefer you RSVP on Meetup.com a week beforehand so that we can get the right amount of food! HARRISBURG, PA Contact: Phil, acxharrisburg[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Saturday, September 24, 2:00 PM Location: Ever Grain Brewing Co, 4444 Carlisle Pike, Camp Hill, PA 17011 - We will be sitting at one of the picnic tables outside with an ACX MEETUP sign Coordinates: 87G562QQ+8P Event link(s): LessWrong Group info: Small monthly meetup group based out of Harrisburg - celebrating 1 year of actuality! You can see more of our events on LessWrong. INDIANA, PA Contact: Eric, ericindianapa[at]gmail[dot]com, 717-256-2717 Time: Saturday, September 24, 11:00 AM Location: Caffè Amadeus in downtown Indiana, PA. I will have a sign with 'ACX Meetup' on one of the tables. Coordinates: 87G2JRFX+48 Event link(s): LessWrong Notes: Please RSVP via email or text message so I know how many to expect. PHILADELPHIA, PA Contact: Wes and Diana, rationalphilly[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Thursday, September 22, 6:30 PM Location: The Philadelphia Ethical Society, 1906 Rittenhouse Square. The meeting room is in the basement, look for the signs. Coordinates: 87F6WRXG+FQ Event link(s): LessWrong Group info: We tend to meet in downtown Philly on the last Thursday of the month. We're aiming to make the Ethical Society our new steady location. We have many links: Discord, Google Calendar, Facebook, Meetup, Google Group Notes: We'll be ordering food from a local restaurant, so no need to eat first. BYOB PITTSBURGH, PA Contact: Justin, pghacx[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Saturday, September 24, 2:00 PM Location: Westinghouse Shelter @ Schenley Park (W Circuit Rd near Schenley Dr). We have the outdoor shelter reserved, so light rain shouldn't be a problem, but in the event of extreme weather, we may relocate indoors (our default 'contingency indoor location' is Crazy Mocha Coffee on 2100 Murray Ave in Squirrel Hill). Coordinates: 87G2C3Q4+773 Event link(s): LessWrong Group info: We meet monthly-ish for general discussion and chit-chat, email me if you'd like to be notified of future meetups. STATE COLLEGE, PA Contact: John Slow, auk480[at]psu[dot]edu Time: Thursday, September 8, 5:00 PM Location: Old Main. I will be carrying an ACX meetup sign. Coordinates: 87G4Q4WP+HV Event link(s): LessWrong SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO Contact: Dan Gelfarb, danielgelfarb[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Saturday, September 10, 1:00 PM Location: Lote 23, back corner under the tents. I will be wearing a blue shirt with a sign that says ACX meetup on it. Coordinates: 77CMCWVM+W32 Event link(s): LessWrong PROVIDENCE, RI Contact: James Bailey, feanor1600[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Saturday, September 17, 4:00 PM Location: Prospect Terrace park, to the right of the Roger Williams statue Coordinates: 87HCRHJV+24 Event link(s): LessWrong SIOUX FALLS, SD Contact: S. C., villainsplus[at]protonmail[dot]com Time: Sunday, October 2, 5:00 PM Location: 410 E 26th St, Sioux Falls, SD 57105 - the pavillion on the west side of McKennan Park, or the tables just south of it if I can't book it. I'll be the guy with the grill. Coordinates: 86M5G7JH+W57 Event link(s): LessWrong MEMPHIS, TN Contact: Michael, michael[at]postlibertarian[dot]com Time: Monday, September 5, 1:00 PM Location: French Truck Coffee at Crosstown Concourse, Central Atrium 1350 Concourse Ave, Memphis, TN 38104. We will be at one of the many tables near French Truck Coffee and I will have a sign that says ACX MEETUP. Coordinates: 867F5X2P+QHC Event link(s): LessWrong Group info: We meet about every month or so. We've been around since 2019 but only regularly since mid 2021 due to the pandemic. We have a Discord server. NASHVILLE, TN Contact: Ellen, enwiegand[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Saturday, October 1, 11:00 AM Location: OneCity Nashville (8 City Blvd, Nashville, TN 37209), next to the volleyball courts. I'll have a pink ballcap that says SPINSTER on it. Coordinates: 868M552H+XW Event link(s): LessWrong AUSTIN, TX Contact: Silas Barta, sbarta[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Saturday, October 8, 12:00 PM Location: 4001 N Lamar, Austin Texas, park by Central Market near stone tables and tents Coordinates: 86248746+8C Event link(s): LessWrong Group info: Austin LessWrong has a weekly focused discussion, a weekly social mixer, a weekly online book club, and a monthly movie night. Been around since 2011. Notes: Location may change as we are talking to other venues BRYAN/COLLEGE STATION, TX Contact: Kenny, easwaran[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Friday, September 9, 5:00 PM Location: Back patio of Torchy's Tacos at Texas and New Main. I'll have a yellow umbrella and pinkish/purple hair Coordinates: JMFC+4J Event link(s): LessWrong DALLAS, TX Contact: Ethan Morse, ethan[dot]morse97[at]gmail[dot]com, Discord: ethanmorse#5255 Time: Sunday, September 11, 12:00 PM Location: Union, 3705 Cedar Springs Rd, Dallas, TX 75219. We'll be in the upstairs conference room. Coordinates: 8645R55R+9M9 Event link(s): LessWrong Notes: Please RSVP on LessWrong so I know how much food to get HOUSTON, TX Contact: Eric Magro, eric135033[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Sunday, September 18, 4:00 PM Location: Empire Cafe, 1732 Westheimer Rd, Houston, TX 77098 ---- Look for a table with an ACX MEETUP sign. Coordinates: 76X6PHVW+5H Event link(s): LessWrong Group info: There are meetups every week. We have a Discord and a Facebook group. WACO, TX Contact: Mike, BaylorACX[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Saturday, October 1, 1:00 PM Location: Cameron Park, picnic tables next to Jacob's Ladder Coordinates: 8634HVG2+V9 Event link(s): LessWrong Notes: Please email me if you're thinking about attending! Would love to start an ACX community here :) SALT LAKE CITY, UT Contact: Ross Richey (aka Jeremiah), wearenotsaved[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Saturday, October 8, 3:00 PM Location: Liberty Park near the ChargePoint stations Coordinates: 85GCP4WF+VJ Event link(s): LessWrong Group info: We meet every other month, we do book clubs and movie nights as well. Notes: Will be outdoors. If the weather looks bad, email event organizer to check on location. CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA Contact: RL, effectivealtruismatuva[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Sunday, September 4, 5:00 PM Location: 12 Rotunda Drive Charlottesville, VA 22903 - We’ll meet at the picnic tables across the street from The Virginian. There will be an ACX sign. Coordinates: 87C32FPX+3H4 Event link(s): LessWrong LYNCHBURG, VA Contact: Craig, craigbdaniel[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Saturday, September 17, 4:00 PM Location: Three Roads Brewing - I will be wearing a purple t-shirt and will place an ""ACX"" card on the table Coordinates: 8792CV65+5G NORFOLK, VA Contact: Willa, walambert[at]pm[dot]me Time: Sunday, September 18, 4:00 PM Location: Pagoda & Oriental Garden, 265 W Tazewell St, Norfolk, VA 23510. I will be wearing a bright green shirt, will have a large green & yellow hat on, and will have a sign with ACX Meetup on it. Coordinates: 8785RPX4+W3 Event link(s): LessWrong, Facebook event Group info: Hi! Virginia Rationalists was co-founded in Norfolk VA earlier this year by Willa & Yitzi with the goal of growing a thriving ACX / LW / EA community in our city & the state of Virginia. We meet every week at Fair Grounds cafe on Wednesday evenings from 5-7:30pm Eastern Time. We have a Discord server and a Twitter. RESTON, VA Contact: James, jrbalch333[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Saturday, September 24, 1:30 PM Location: The matchbox at 1900 Reston Station Blvd, Reston, VA 20190 on the 1st floor of the giant Google building. I'll be holding a copy of Sapiens. Coordinates: 87C4WMX6+9X Event link(s): LessWrong Notes: Email me to be added to the WhatsApp group RICHMOND, VA Contact: Cedar, cedar[dot]ren+acxmeetup[at]gmail[dot]com, @Cedar at this Discord server Time: Saturday, October 1, 2:30 PM Location: Richmond Public Libraries, West End Branch 5420 Patterson Ave, Richmond, VA 23226 Coordinates: 8794HFHQ+3G Event link(s): LessWrong Notes: Please RSVP on LessWrong & optionally reach out to me on Discord to introduce yourself! BURLINGTON, VT Contact: Forrest, lucidobservor[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Saturday, September 10, 2:00 PM Location: Battery Park, at the benches in the south-western corner of the park, near the cannons facing the lake. I will have an 'ACX Meetup' sign. Coordinates: 87P8FQJH+8P Event link(s): LessWrong BELLINGHAM, WA Contact: Alex, bellinghamrationalish[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Thursday, September 29, 5:30 PM Location: Lake Padden Park, at one of the tables near the lake by the dog park. If it's rainy, we'll meet in one of the two covered gazebo areas just north (right, if you're facing the lake) of the planned spot. If the forecast looks really bad (e.g. very cold), I'll post an indoor location to the Meetup.com page at least three days in advance. Coordinates: 84WVMHX3+GM Event link(s): LessWrong, Meetup.com Group info: Bellingham Rationalish discusses (in good faith!) topics in and around rationality. We usually meet the evening of the last Wednesday of each month. Our first meeting was a 2021 ACX Everywhere meetup. Notes: Please RSVP on Meetup so I have an idea how many people to expect. Kids, animals, food, beverages, etc. are all welcome. SEATTLE, WA Contact: Nikita Sokolsky, sokolx[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Sunday, October 9, 5:00 PM Location: Optimism Brewing (1158 Broadway, Seattle) Coordinates: 84VVJM7H+4Q Event link(s): LessWrong, Facebook event, Meetup.com Notes: Please RSVP on LessWrong (or FB/Meetup) for planning purposes MADISON, WI Contact: Mary Wang, mmwang[at]wisc[dot]edu Time: Saturday, September 10, 1:00 PM Location: 1022 High St. Blue house with red porches. If weather permits, we'll be in my large backyard, which has more seating now than last year. If rain, come in the side door. There will be air purifiers and open windows. Masks optional. Look for a sign at the end of the driveway that says ACX/SSC Meetup. Coordinates: 86MG3H3X+XW Event link(s): LessWrong, Facebook event Group info: We have met fortnightly in the past, but quit last year when it got too cold to meet outside. We typically have shared a meal, sat around my kitchen table and talked. Have held a Solstice celebration.
Inline links: 866MP88H+53, LessWrong, 8559FVVQ+6C, LessWrong, 849VGP8C+RRG, LessWrong, here, 849VVP5R+X7V, LessWrong, mailing list, Discord server, Facebook group, 856393VX+VQ, LessWrong, 84FW6W8H+C5, LessWrong, 8554M526+7H, LessWrong, the server, 8553XHWM+GP, LessWrong, LessWrong group, website, 8554J48R+WCX, LessWrong, Facebook event, 8544PVQ8+Q7, LessWrong, Meetup.com, Discord server, 849VQHC3+V8, LessWrong, 849W825J+6P, LessWrong, 85544VW4+RV, LessWrong, 85GP2V96+JQ, LessWrong, 85FJ9QXP+QMF, LessWrong, 85FQP2VP+9R, LessWrong, 85FPMW64+MW, LessWrong, Meetup.com, Facebook group, 87H84PCH+CM, LessWrong, 87H9QFFH+J7, LessWrong, 87H9836C+8VG, LessWrong, 87C4WX33+3J, LessWrong, Facebook event, 76RWH224+44, LessWrong, 862J9RCF+G6, LessWrong, 76QXRR65+V2, LessWrong, Facebook group, Discord server, Meetup.com group, 76WWJQ2X+82, LessWrong, Discord link, 862QCPR3+PX, LessWrong, 865RXJ68+2W, LessWrong, 865QRH2F+V8, LessWrong, Meetup.com, 73H475M3+JP, LessWrong, Meetup.com, our website, 85M5JQ6P+96, LessWrong, 86GH4Q7G+H8F, LessWrong, Discord server, 86HJV9FH+84, LessWrong, Chicago Rationality, 86JJ28X9+5WQ, LessWrong, 86FM4FX6+4Q, LessWrong, our Discord, 86GMC3GG+728, LessWrong, 86CQ3F4X+VF, LessWrong, 76XFXX73+8R, LessWrong, Website, 87JC9W3M+PR, LessWrong, Facebook event, Mailing list, Facebook group, Meetup.com, here, 87J9899F+H7H, LessWrong, Facebook event, Discord, 87F5774P+53, LessWrong, 86JR9WG9+R6, LessWrong, 86P8WPRW+76, LessWrong, 86F72CM8+RR, LessWrong, Meetup.com, 86CFJP4R+XV, LessWrong, 868CP4HW+CV, LessWrong, 8773X4Q3+QW, LessWrong, a Discord, LessWrong, 87G7QGW9+RJ, LessWrong, 87G7982Q+2CP, LessWrong, 85864RHJ+3H, LessWrong, Facebook event, Discord server, 85F2G46W+FG, LessWrong, 87J3W467+8P, 87G8VJRW+99, LessWrong, 87G7PX9M+4J3, LessWrong, Discord, Google Group, Perkins Restaurant & Bakery, 87H7GWCH+GF, LessWrong, 87M46FM6+Q5P, LessWrong, 86HWG96Q+GC5, LessWrong, Clinton Shelter, 86FVX3C3+QF, LessWrong, 86HRMCCV+9R, LessWrong, 8674MG3C+MW, LessWrong, 84PRJWR7+XC6, LessWrong, 84PRHP5P+VQ, LessWrong, 84PR2WX4+VV, LessWrong, 84QVG8FG+V4, LessWrong, Meetup.com, Meetup.com, 87G562QQ+8P, LessWrong, on LessWrong, 87G2JRFX+48, LessWrong, 87F6WRXG+FQ, LessWrong, Discord, Google Calendar, Facebook, Meetup, Google Group, 87G2C3Q4+773, LessWrong, 87G4Q4WP+HV, LessWrong, 77CMCWVM+W32, LessWrong, 87HCRHJV+24, LessWrong, 86M5G7JH+W57, LessWrong, 867F5X2P+QHC, LessWrong, Discord server, 868M552H+XW, LessWrong, 86248746+8C, LessWrong, Austin LessWrong, JMFC+4J, LessWrong, 8645R55R+9M9, LessWrong, 76X6PHVW+5H, LessWrong, Discord, Facebook group, 8634HVG2+V9, LessWrong, 85GCP4WF+VJ, LessWrong, 87C32FPX+3H4, LessWrong, 8792CV65+5G, 8785RPX4+W3, LessWrong, Facebook event, Discord server, Twitter, 87C4WMX6+9X, LessWrong, this Discord server, 8794HFHQ+3G, LessWrong, 87P8FQJH+8P, LessWrong, 84WVMHX3+GM, LessWrong, Meetup.com, 84VVJM7H+4Q, LessWrong, Facebook event, Meetup.com, 86MG3H3X+XW, LessWrong, Facebook event
Open Thread 241
September 12, 2022 · Original source
2: Worldwide ACX meetup season continues. This week there will be meetups in Sydney on Thursday, Ottawa on Friday, Cambridge (UK) / DC / San Jose / Atlanta on Saturday, and Berkeley / SF / Toronto / New Haven / Chicago on Sunday - plus many more. See the meetups list for details.
Inline links: the meetups list
Bay Area Meetups This Weekend
September 16, 2022 · Original source
Berkeley, at 1 PM on Sunday 9/18, at the Rose Garden Inn (2740 Telegraph Ave)
I will be at the Berkeley one.
Open Thread 242
September 18, 2022 · Original source
7: Sorry about the weather today for the Bay Area meetups! We are still planning to hold the Berkeley meetup at the Rose Garden Inn starting at 1, and SF started at 11 and has announced their rain plan here. Next week will be meetups in Amman on the 20th, Philadelphia on the 22nd, Paris on the 23rd, Zurich + Edinburgh + Pittsburgh + Copenhagen on the 24, and London + Perth + Waterloo on the 25th - see details here.
Inline links: here, here
Highlights From The Comments On The Central Valley
October 13, 2022 · Original source
"Severe drought... partly [from] California diverting water to hydrate growing coastal cities." Coastal urban water demand has almost nothing to do with agricultural water shortages. Going to self-cite on this one (laziness; PhD in water resources engineering; married to a UC Berkeley water resources economist). Lack of winter rain/snow and associated land fallowing in the Central Valley almost definitely impacts agricultural labor demand.
I'm a Chicago native who lived in the East Bay (Berkeley & Oakland) for the past 35+ years, working in biotech & SV. Last year, we moved to Colorado.
Open Thread 249
November 06, 2022 · Original source
Redwood Research is running a large collaborative research sprint for interpreting behaviors of transformer language models. The program is paid, and takes place in Berkeley during Dec/Jan (depending on your availability). Previous interpretability experience is not required, though will be useful for doing advanced research. More information is provided here.
Inline links: here
Berkeley Meetup On Tuesday, Special Guest Daniel Ingram
February 04, 2023 · Original source
Where: Rose Garden Inn, 2740 Telegraph Ave, Berkeley.
Spring Meetups Everywhere 2023
April 10, 2023 · Original source
I’ll provisionally be attending the Berkeley meetup on May 6th. Skyler will provisionally be attending Manhattan, DC, Boston, Philadelphia, and Berkeley.
BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA, USA Contact: Skyler Contact Info: skyler[at]rationalitymeetups[dot]org Time: Saturday, May 06th, 01:00 PM Location: Rose Garden Inn, a rationalist event space at 2740 Telegraph Ave. Come in through the front gate on Telegraph. Coordinates: https://plus.codes/849VVP5R+X5 Notes: The Bay rationality community has a mailing list (https://groups.google.com/g/bayarealesswrong) a Discord server (https://discord.gg/Yqus2bFhww) and a Facebook group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/566160007909175) There are dinner meetups every Thursday at 7 PM in the East Bay, and occasional meetups in SF and South Bay.
Inline links: https://plus.codes/849VVP5R+X5, https://groups.google.com/g/bayarealesswrong, https://discord.gg/Yqus2bFhww, https://www.facebook.com/groups/566160007909175
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA, USA (see Berkeley)
Berkeley Meetup This Saturday
May 05, 2023 · Original source
Why: Because we’re having another round of spring meetups, and Berkeley is one of them. I’m signal-boosting this one because I’ll be attending, as will Meetups Czar Skyler. Other meetups this weekend include Chicago, Phoenix, Richmond, Kuala Lumpur, Fort Lauderdale, Bangalore, Melbourne, and Budapest. See the full list here for other cities’ times and dates.
Inline links: another round of spring meetups
Open Thread 282
June 25, 2023 · Original source
4: Lightcone is a team that operates important AI alignment and rationalist community infrastructure, including the Less Wrong website, the Alignment Forum, and the Rose Garden Inn (a venue for various alignment-related conferences and projects - also where we have Berkeley ACX meetups!) They're running low on money due to Rose Garden renovations being unexpectedly expensive and grants being unexpectedly thin, and are asking for a few 6+ figure grants to help tide them through this difficult period. If you're a wealthy person or grantmaker interested in AI alignment, see here for more information, or contact me at scott@slatestarcodex.com if you have questions, or get in touch with the head of Lightcone directly at habryka@lesswrong.com.
Inline links: see here for more information
Open Thread 285
July 17, 2023 · Original source
2: Heads up that I’ll probably be having a Berkeley meetup this coming Sunday (7/23) and an NYC meetup the Sunday after that (7/30). I’m still finalizing plans and can’t guarantee either of them, I’m just letting you know to keep the date open if you want. I’ll make a top-level post about both if they end up happening.
Berkeley Meetup On Sunday, Special Guest Philip Tetlock
July 19, 2023 · Original source
Where: Rose Garden Inn, 2740 Telegraph Ave, Berkeley.
Open Thread 286
July 23, 2023 · Original source
3: There’s still a Berkeley meetup today (7/23), see more here, and I’m still finalizing travel plans for NYC which will probably involve a Manhattan meetup next Sunday (7/30) at 3. I’ll make a top-level post about it once my travel plans are confirmed.
Inline links: here
Meetups Everywhere 2023: Times & Places
August 25, 2023 · Original source
Scott will provisionally be attending the meetup in Berkeley. ACX meetups coordinator Skyler will provisionally be attending Boston, Cavendish, Burlington, Berlin, Bremen, Amsterdam, Cardiff, London, and Berkeley. Some of the biggest ones might be announced on the blog, regardless of whether or not Scott or Skyler attends.
BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA, USA Contact: Scott and Skyler Contact Info: skyler[at]rationalitymeetups[dot]org Time: Saturday, October 21st, 3:00 PM Location: 2740 Telegraph Avenue Coordinates: https://plus.codes/849VVP5R+X5 (I [Scott] will try to make it to this one!)
Inline links: https://plus.codes/849VVP5R+X5
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA, USA Duplicate of Berkeley Contact: Scott and Skyler Contact Info: skyler[at]rationalitymeetups[dot]org Time: Saturday, October 21st, 3:00 PM Location: Rose Garden Inn Coordinates: https://plus.codes/849VVP5R+X5 (I [Scott] will try to make it to this one!)
Inline links: https://plus.codes/849VVP5R+X5
Open Thread 293
September 11, 2023 · Original source
2: Manifold Markets wants me to remind you that this is approximately your last chance to sign up for Manifest, their forecasting and prediction market conference in Berkeley, CA. Guests will include Nate Silver, Robin Hanson, Aella, Zvi, and the CEOs of Kalshi, Manifold, and Polymarket. I’m still figuring out if I can make it but I’ll try my best.
Inline links: Manifest, their forecasting and prediction market conference
Open Thread 298
October 16, 2023 · Original source
1: Sorry, I scheduled the Berkeley fall ACX meetup for next Saturday, but my schedule has changed and I won’t be able to go. Meetups Czar Skyler and lots of other great people will still be there, so have fun without me!
Inline links: scheduled the Berkeley fall ACX meetup for next Saturday
23
October 31, 2023 · Original source
Last month, the Lighthaven convention center in Berkeley hosted Manifest, the first conference for prediction market enthusiasts. By now this has already been covered elsewhere, including in a great article by the New York Times, but here are some particular highlights:
Inline links: in a great article by the
Open Thread 301
November 06, 2023 · Original source
1: MATS (formerly SERI-MATS), a training program for AI alignment research, will be hosting its next cohort from January 17 to March 8 (you would have to be in Berkeley during this period). They “provide talented scholars with talks, workshops, and research mentorship in the field of AI safety”. Application deadline November 10 or 17 depending on exactly what you’re applying for. See more info here, FAQ here, and application form here.
Inline links: more info here, FAQ here, application form here
Seen In The Bay
November 22, 2023 · Original source
This is the most reasonable and politically moderate person in Berkeley.
More Avakian posters, but this one doesn’t do it for me. The quarterback of the 1960 Berkeley High School football team becoming the most radical revolutionary communist in the world today is the most predictable thing that has ever happened. If the quarterback of the 1960 Berkeley High School football team hadn’t become a radical revolutionary communist, I would be interested in going to the screening of a movie exploring what kind of wacky circumstances had prevented that outcome.
Open Thread 318
March 04, 2024 · Original source
2: Last year Manifold Markets held a prediction market conference/festival, Manifest, in Berkeley. I thought it was a lot of fun. They’re going to do it again this year, June 7 to 9th, you can get tickets here, cheaper early bird tickets ($249) are first come, first serve.
Inline links: here
How Should We Think About Race And "Lived Experience"?
March 07, 2024 · Original source
As a kid, Anita would take Elizabeth to pow-wows (Native American ceremonial gatherings) where she would play with all the other young Native girls. As she grew up, many of her closest friends were Natives, and she practiced Native American dance. By the time she was a teenager, she had taken a Mi'kmaq name, wore Native clothing, and was involved in Native political causes. In college, she wrote a thesis on Native American issues, then got a PhD in same, then got a professorship at Berkeley. She married a Crow Indian and went on trips to various Indian reservations where she studied and wrote papers about the problems they faced, and she was informally adopted by one of the Native families she stayed with. She became one of the most influential Native American academics in the country.
Spring Meetups Everywhere 2024 - Call For Organizers
March 08, 2024 · Original source
I have in the past and had a lot of fun, but this year I’ll probably only be able to make my local one in the Bay. Meetups Czar Skyler plans to be at Boston, Berkeley, plus hopefully a few other USA meetups.
24
March 12, 2024 · Original source
The first team is Halawi et al at Berkeley (also including Jacob Steinhardt, featured here before). They cite previous work on out-of-the-box AIs like GPT-4 or Claude. When these enter forecasting tournaments, they might beat some especially unskilled participants, but they lag behind the easiest aggregation method: “the wisdom of crowds”, ie a simple average of all forecasts. The wisdom of crowds is hard to beat - in my tournament, it scored at the 95th percentile.
Inline links: Halawi et al at Berkeley, my tournament
Spring Meetups Everywhere 2024
March 30, 2024 · Original source
I’ll provisionally be attending the Berkeley meetup on June 5th. Skyler will provisionally be attending Northampton, Manhattan, Boston, Brooklyn, Baltimore, Burlington, and Berkeley.
BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA, USA Contact: Skyler and Scott Contact Info: skyler[at]rationalitymeetups[dot]org Time: Wednesday, June 5th, 6:30 PM Location: 2740 Telegraph Avenue Coordinates: https://plus.codes/849VVP5R+X5 Group Link: https://groups.google.com/g/bayarealesswrong Notes: Held between Less.Online and Manifest 2, we expect a lot of interesting out-of-town visitors. We’ll provide dinner, kids are welcome, no pets please!
Inline links: https://plus.codes/849VVP5R+X5, https://groups.google.com/g/bayarealesswrong, Less.Online, Manifest 2
Open Thread 329
May 13, 2024 · Original source
4: And Lighthaven is still hosting two back-to-back conferences in Berkeley in late May early June, of which you are invited to both. First, Less Online, a conference for rationalists and rationalist-blog-readers, May 31 - June 2. I might have announced this before, but new guests since I last mentioned it include Patrick McKenzie, Agnes Callard, Kevin Simler, Cremieux, and Aella. Second, Manifest, a conference on prediction markets, June 7 - 9. I’ll be at both. Ticket prices go up midnight on Monday. If you want to meet the guests but can’t pay, there should be an ACX meetup at Lightcone around that time, which many guests will be attending and which will be free admission.
Inline links: Less Online,, Manifest
24
May 13, 2024 · Original source
5: Manifest, the prediction market conference, is still in Berkeley this June, see here for more information.
Inline links: see here for more information
Open Thread 332
June 03, 2024 · Original source
4: Berkeley meetup this Wednesday at 6:30 at 2740 Telegraph. I’ll be there. I’ll probably post a reminder with slightly more information tomorrow or Tuesday.
Berkeley Meetup This Wednesday
June 04, 2024 · Original source
Why: Because we’re having another round of spring meetups, and Berkeley is one of them. I’m signal-boosting this one because it’s usually our biggest, and because I hope to be able to attend.
Inline links: another round of spring meetups
Where: Lighthaven, 2740 Telegraph Ave, Berkeley.
Inline links: Lighthaven
Open Thread 333
June 10, 2024 · Original source
1: A message from ACX Grantee 1DaySooner: California is considering a law to ban things that emit ozone. As unintentional collateral damage, this bill would ban far-UV light, a new disinfection technology that can potentially eliminate all indoor respiratory diseases, but which also creates trivial amounts of ozone. Far UV is almost ready for deployment, and could potentially save tens of thousands of lives yearly. 1DaySooner, a health-related charity, is trying to convince the California government to exempt it from this law, or at least to remember that it exists when writing the exact text of the bill. They are asking Californians to write to their representative about this. Representative Buffy Wicks is on a relevant committee, and support from her constituents (Berkeley, Richmond, and north Oakland) would be especially helpful. I’ve posted more information - including what you can say to your representative - as a comment below.
Inline links: 1DaySooner:, far-UV light, trying, Buffy Wicks, as a
Open Thread 339
July 22, 2024 · Original source
1: I'm interested in expanding my biennial local ballot post into a community-wide effort to get an ACX slate for major US cities. Current plan is to ask the 5-10 biggest meetup groups to research for their city sometime in the autumn, then post a week or two before the election. This would probably be SF, Oakland, Berkeley, San Jose, LA, NYC, Seattle, Austin, Boston, Chicago. The main things I want to know now: when does your state release its voter information packet? Do other states have enough things on the ballot to keep this interesting, or is California unique there? Do these meetup groups feel up to working on this? Does anyone have any other suggestions or advice?
Inline links: biennial local ballot post
Matt Yglesias Considered As The Nietzschean Superman
July 30, 2024 · Original source
You believe that people should be judged not by their actions, but by the purity of their ideas. Actions are difficult and your actions might be bad, so you definitely don’t want to be judged on those. But ideas are easy, and you can always believe that your ideas are the most pure of all. Also, anyone who acts in the world or achieves something probably is less than 100% slave moralist, so if you judge people based on who has the purest slave moralist ideas, you will always be better than anyone with accomplishments. When I first read Nietzsche, my question was: why worry about the master/slave dichotomy? Sure, maybe this was the way moral codes first formed during the Bronze Age; who cares? You can love excellence and be altruistic. It doesn’t take some Superman to combine them - you can just take the good parts of each. Right? I think Nietzsche would have two answers: First, you don’t pick your moral commitments like foods at a buffet. You deploy them as psychological defense mechanisms. You deploy slave morality when life has beaten you down and you want to maintain some of dignity. You don’t choose which subparts to swallow; you get whichever bits are load-bearing in your personal dignity-maintenance project. And second, you may not be interested in slave morality, but slave morality is interested in you. Master morality isn’t interested in you - the masters are out achieving things and conquering places, they’re not going to take time out of their day to turn missionary and “convert” you to master morality too2. But slave moralists are obsessed with ideological purity and invested in cutting down anybody who’s less slave moralist than they are. Even if you find it easy to avoid yourself, you need to be prepared to live in a slave morality world. V. Jason Crawford Nietzsche’s original dichotomy was aimed at the individual level, where people with psychological drives compete with each other for status. It doesn’t naturally transfer to the idea of societies. There’s a sort of trivial transfer where you can imagine superpowers boasting of their prowess and tiny city-states claiming the geopolitical game is rigged, but that doesn’t seem interesting to me. When I think of master/slave morality at the level of societies, I think of the slave moralist herd instinct to enforce their slave morality on everyone else. This will be a feature of all societies - you could argue it’s what society/civilization is - but some will have it more than others. Jason Crawford, one of the pioneers of Progress Studies, writes about a sort of mid twentieth century vibe shift. In the 19th and early 20th century, Western civilization was busy trying to embiggen itself. Some of this was literal. In America, we had Manifest Destiny, our God-given right to stretch from sea to sea (my sometimes-hometown of Berkeley was named after the guy who coined the slogan “westward the course of empire takes its way”). Europe had colonialism, the White Man’s Burden, and eventually lebensraum. But some of the embiggening was metaphorical. We believed in the cult of progress. We would hold giant World Fairs, where we tiled whole cities with beautiful monuments called things like The Temple Of Machinery or The Altar Of Reason. They would have elaborate friezes of classical goddesses blessing railroads or holding sheaves of mechanically-reaped wheat. Inside, tens of thousands of men would come from every corner of the Earth to behold the newest inventions making our lives richer, safer, and easier. It seemed like we were heading for a Utopia of limitless plenty, and our only responsibility was to bring that great day forward as fast as possible and spread our greatness to as-yet-unenlightened corners of the world like Africa and Tibet. The San Francisco World’s Fair, built in three years (1912 - 1915). The only surviving remnant, the Palace Of Fine Arts (the dome on the lower right), remains one of SF’s most beloved monuments. A picture from the St. Louis, MO World’s Fair of 1904. We erected glorious Art Deco skyscrapers, and boasted of how quickly they went up. We built the Empire State Building in a year and the Golden Gate Bridge in four. The interiors were bursting with color, ornament, and more classical goddesses representing Industry and Ingenuity or whatever. We held ticker tape parades for the glorious aviators and astronauts bringing us to ever-further corners of the world. Art Deco architecture, typical of the early 20th century. After (?) the trauma of the World Wars (?), something flipped. Instead of embiggening ourselves, we began to ensmallen. We replaced World’s Fairs with “World Expos”, which Wikipedia describes as “less focused on technology and aimed more at cultural themes and social progress”. Of the few inventions that did feature, more and more were “green tech” - machines aimed at reducing the damage we were doing to the world. The classical goddesses got replaced by murals of ordinary workers, then abstractions, then nothing. The last ticker tape parade for an individual was 1998; since then the (relatively few, comparatively small) parades have all been for classes of people (NYC’s most recent was for “COVID-19 Essential Workers”). Our buildings became smaller and duller. Last month’s Works In Progress magazine tried to investigate why. Some economists have blamed “Baumol’s cost disease” - as industrialization makes some things (like consumer goods) cheaper, other things (like skilled labor) become relatively more expensive. So maybe the rising cost of skilled labor put buildings like the one of the left out of reach. But Works In Progress found that wasn’t true; if anything, industrialization has made fancy buildings cheaper. They concluded that it was “a story of cultural choice, not of technological destiny” - in other words, people stopped wanting impressive buildings. The vibes were wrong, or something. Intellectuals started feting ideas like degrowth. Degrowth says that it’s gross, greedy, and unsustainable to want economic progress. Instead, we should deliberately aim for economic regress, until First World GDPs are closer to those of South America or Africa. Advocates are careful to emphasize that as long as we take common-sense steps (like implementing socialism), this won’t force anyone to starve to death, just get rid of our useless luxuries - and in some sense, wouldn’t that make us better off?3 The promised future utopia was replaced by almost unbroken dystopianism. Global warming will kill us all, or maybe we’ll be stuck in a cyberpunk world of hopeless soul-crushing inequality. Technological advance is interesting only insofar as it brings our cyberpunk hell closer and (unfairly) enriches some billionaires along the way. The only bright spots are occasional acts of voluntary ensmallening - power plants cancelled, products banned, indigenous tribes winning little legal triumphs over modernity. Live-people goals like “build giant skyscrapers!” and “go to the moon!” could have been followed up with even greater live-people goals like “tile the desert with solar plants”, “create genetically-engineered superbabies”, “get one billion Americans”, or “cure all diseases”. Instead, they’ve been replaced by dead-people goals like “don’t damage the traditional character of communities” or “don’t damage the environment”. If you Google “why aren’t there world’s fairs?” you get a link to this podcast, which explains that they had “useless gizmos”, that the towers were “unattractive”, and that it involved “a dismal thread of racism”. Also because “technology won’t save us”. I agree that this doesn’t literally say the words “we hate all life” - you either see it or you don’t. Parts of this vibe shift still confuse me, but the zoomed-out version seems clear enough. The old pro-embiggening world was complicit in moral catastrophes - racism, colonialism, the Holocaust, the destruction of much of the natural world. At some point these atrocities caught up to and outpaced its very real accomplishments, and society stopped being proud of itself and shifted to a harm-reduction approach. Nobody comes out and says outright that harm reduction necessarily has to mean doing as little as possible and trying to make yourself smaller and less impressive and sadder and uglier until you curl up into a tiny point and disappear. But “slave morality” and “master morality” are attractors; if you select too hard for part of one, you end up with the whole package. VI. Andrew Tate I originally wanted to explain to Bentham’s Bulldog why slave morality wasn’t obviously “the good one” and master morality “the bad one”. Lest I come down too hard and get you thinking that master morality is obviously “the good one”, let’s talk about Andrew Tate. In case you’ve been under a rock your whole life, Andrew Tate is a masculinity influencer. He’s a former world champion kickboxer who pivoted to self-help, sold scammy courses on business and relationships, and got rich. Some of his courses apparently recommended beating up women (I’m not sure if this was supposed to help your business or your relationship), and when people confronted him on this, his response was always “I’m strong and successful and own a Bugatti, which makes me better than you, you pathetic weakling failure”. He was credibly accused of rape (by “credibly” I mean that he sent one of the victims a text message saying “I love raping you”) and when people tried to cancel him over this, his response was always “I’m strong and successful and own a Bugatti, which makes me better than you, you pathetic weakling failure.” Finally he was indicted on one billion counts of sexual assault, human trafficking, and being a general scumbag of a human being; he is currently awaiting trial. Tate has, in some sense, many good qualities. He’s strong, athletic, and motivated. He earned tens of millions of dollars through hustle and hard work. He’s charismatic and compelling and, before his arrest, was one of the Internet’s most iconic influencers. I think master morality has to approve of all these things. Still, he’s obviously a jerk. This is exactly the situation that Nietzsche believes slave morality evolved for - letting me feel contempt for someone who’s stronger and richer and more successful than I am - and yup, now that I’m in this situation, I find myself definitely interested in a moral system that lets me do this. The obvious compromise goes something like: We can genuinely appreciate that Andrew Tate has the many good qualities listed above.
Inline links: 2, writes, World Fairs, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5vPJ!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5b5023c4-be4f-427d-a4d1-c8d69ed1fd7b_725x291.png, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TrEK!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1c8f847e-4b4f-4388-864a-567849f8f97e.avif, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!rvQM!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbf261702-dfd3-448e-900f-845a9ef014a4_893x377.png, since then, Last month’s, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!AbVF!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff8c33c84-0e6e-4489-8a58-f3603361d7e9_1357x501.png, degrowth, 3, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!7Ttz!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7589c5dc-2f84-4f82-a6b8-c132ce4a0fc8_697x628.png, this podcast
Meetups Everywhere 2024: Times & Places
August 29, 2024 · Original source
Scott will provisionally be attending the meetup in Berkeley. ACX meetups coordinator Skyler will provisionally be attending Boston, Burlington, Kitchener-Waterloo, Newton, Northampton, and Berkeley. Some of the biggest ones might be announced on the blog, regardless of whether or not Scott or Skyler attends.
Contact: Keaton Contact Info: keatonhurlbut[at]gmail[dot]com Time: Wednesday, September 04th, 06:30 PM Location: Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers - 1788 W Martin Luther King Jr Blvd. I'll have a sign that says ACX MEETUP Coordinates: https://plus.codes/86873R47+QJ Notes: Please RSVP by emailing me California BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA, USA Contact: Scott and Skyler Contact Info: skyler[at]rationalitymeetups[dot]org Time: Saturday, September 14th, 03:00 PM Location: 2740 Telegraph Avenue, Berkeley. We'll have a sign saying ACX Meetup by the door. Coordinates: https://plus.codes/849VVP5R+X5 Group Link: https://groups.google.com/g/bayarealesswrong
Inline links: https://plus.codes/86873R47+QJ, https://groups.google.com/g/bayarealesswrong
Contact: Scott and Skyler Contact Info: skyler[at]rationalitymeetups[dot]org Time: Saturday, September 14th, 03:00 PM Location: 2740 Telegraph Avenue, Berkeley. We'll have a sign saying ACX Meetup by the door. Coordinates: https://plus.codes/849VVP5R+X5 Group Link: https://groups.google.com/g/bayarealesswrong
Inline links: https://groups.google.com/g/bayarealesswrong
Links For September 2024
September 12, 2024 · Original source
26: I’ve lived in Oakland for five years now and never considered the possibility that it might be valorous, but apparently Kamala Harris is committing “stolen valor” by claiming she comes from Oakland (she actually comes from nearby Berkeley, which is apparently less cool).
Inline links: Kamala Harris is committing “stolen valor” by claiming she comes from Oakland
38: Sequences Reading Group at Lighthaven. The Sequences are the founding text of the rationalist movement (readable here), and Lighthaven is the rationalist HQ in Berkeley. The first meeting has already happened, but you can RSVP to their mailing list for information on future (weekly?) meetups.
Inline links: Sequences Reading Group at Lighthaven, readable here
Berkeley Meetup This Saturday
September 14, 2024 · Original source
Why: Because we’re having another round of fall meetups, and Berkeley is one of them. I’m signal-boosting this one because it’s usually our biggest, and because I hope to be able to attend.
Inline links: another round of fall meetups
Where: Lighthaven, 2740 Telegraph Ave, Berkeley.
Inline links: Lighthaven
Ballots Everywhere: Call For Organizers, Times, & Dates
September 30, 2024 · Original source
Berkeley
If your meetup group covers many localities (like a city with many city council districts, or somewhere like Berkeley or Boston where many of the attendees will really be from Oakland or Cambridge), you can decide whether to do full ballots for all localities, the most important races from each, or just pick one and stick to it.
Ballots Everywhere: Times And Places
October 04, 2024 · Original source
OAKLAND (Berkeleyans also welcome) - Wednesday, October 16, 6:30 - 10:00 PM - 540 Alcatraz Ave, Oakland CA - Contact ja.kopczynski[at]gmail[dot]com
Book Review Contest 2024 Winners
October 11, 2024 · Original source
2nd: Nine Lives, reviewed by David Matolcsi. David is an AI safety researcher from Hungary, currently living in Berkeley. He doesn't have much publicly available writing yet, but plans to publish some new blog posts on LessWrong in the coming months
Inline links: Nine Lives
Open Thread 352
October 21, 2024 · Original source
3: I’ve been asked to advertise The Curve, a conference on “the trajectory of transformative AI”, including forecasting, alignment, etc. It’s by the Manifold/Manifest/Manifund team and will be held at Lighthaven, Berkeley from November 22 - 24, tickets are $100 for students, $300 - $800 for others. Apply here. I hope to attend.
Inline links: The Curve, Lighthaven, here
ACX Local Voting Guides
October 22, 2024 · Original source
AUSTIN: Guide here BOSTON: Guide here CHICAGO: Guide here LOS ANGELES: Guide here NEW YORK CITY: Guide here OAKLAND/BERKELEY: Guide here PHILADELPHIA: Guide here SAN FRANCISCO: Guide here SEATTLE: Guide here
Inline links: Guide here, Guide here, Guide here, Guide here, Guide here, Guide here, Guide here, Guide here, Guide here
OAKLAND/BERKELEY: Guide here. Both LA and Oakland weighed in on California’s statewide races; here’s a comparison of their opinions:
Inline links: Guide here
Open Thread 353
October 28, 2024 · Original source
2: Another Lighthaven event: Ricki Heicklen is running a quantitative trading bootcamp at Lighthaven (in Berkeley), November 6-10. Prices go up tomorrow from $1350 to $1550, but you can get a $150 discount if you check "ACX Open Thread" for "Where did you hear about this bootcamp?" Register at https://forms.gle/swGLn6jZpfKrN4jN6 . You can read more here or listen to the Patrick McKenzie podcast here. She specifies that “this will not make you rich” and “will not meaningfully boost your resume [to get a job at a] quantitative trading firm”, so I guess it’s aimed at people who . . . just have an abstract passion for learning about quantitative trading and are willing to spend $1000+ to satisfy it? I am as curious as you are whether this is a real demographic; if any of you go, please tell me whether anyone else attended. Meanwhile, I need to learn to say no to advertising Lighthaven events, so I’m committing to no more of them this year unless it’s extra-important.
Inline links: https://forms.gle/swGLn6jZpfKrN4jN6, here, here
Mantic Monday: Judgment Day
November 05, 2024 · Original source
3: Manifold Markets is hosting an election night party (or mourning vigil, depending) in Berkeley, go here for details.
Inline links: go here for details
Open Thread 359
December 09, 2024 · Original source
Lightcone handles infrastructure for the rationalist community. They run the Less Wrong website and the Lighthaven campus (where we’ve held the past several Berkeley ACX meetups). You can read their pitch here, and donate here. Many of us have enjoyed and benefited from their work, and now would be a great time to give something back (and if you donate enough, they’ll name a bench after you). Warning that the (not affiliated with Lightcone) donation site quietly tries to add a 15% tip to themselves, and you should un-add it if you don’t want to tip them.
Inline links: here, here
Links For January 2025
January 17, 2025 · Original source
25: Ten big animal welfare wins of 2024. “Against the giant wrongs of factory farming, these wins may appear small. But for the animals affected, they’re a big deal. And they were all achieved by a small group of advocates operating with less funding than Harvard spent renovating a single residential house.” Related: AI For Animals conference in Berkeley, March 1 - 2.
Inline links: Ten big animal welfare wins of 2024, AI For Animals conference
Spring Meetups Everywhere 2025 - Call For Organizers
March 05, 2025 · Original source
I have in the past and had a lot of fun, but this year I’ll probably only be able to make my local one in Berkeley.
Open Thread 373
March 17, 2025 · Original source
1: LessOnline, an annual gathering of the online rationalist community, is happening again this year, May 30 - June 1 in Berkeley, $450 for tickets. If you can’t make the main event, there will probably be an adjacent (free) ACX meetup, exact time to be announced.
Inline links: LessOnline
Meetups Everywhere Spring 2025: Times & Places
March 25, 2025 · Original source
I’ll provisionally be attending the Berkeley meetup.
Contact: Charles Contact Info: nwa_rationality[period]humid012[a t]silomails[period]com Time: Saturday, April 5th, 2:00 PM Location: Onyx Coffee Lab, NW 2nd Street Coordinates: https://plus.codes/86879QFR+77 California BERKELEY Contact: Scott and Skyler Contact Info: skyler[a t]rationalitymeetups[period]org Time: Wednesday, June 4th, 6:30 PM Location: 2740 Telegraph Ave, Berkeley Coordinates: https://plus.codes/849VVP5R+X5 Group Link: bayrationality.com Notes: Held between Less.Online and Manifest 3, we expect a lot of interesting out-of-town visitors. We’ll provide food, kids are welcome, no pets please!
Inline links: https://plus.codes/86879QFR+77, https://plus.codes/849VVP5R+X5
Contact: Scott and Skyler Contact Info: skyler[a t]rationalitymeetups[period]org Time: Wednesday, June 4th, 6:30 PM Location: 2740 Telegraph Ave, Berkeley Coordinates: https://plus.codes/849VVP5R+X5 Group Link: bayrationality.com Notes: Held between Less.Online and Manifest 3, we expect a lot of interesting out-of-town visitors. We’ll provide food, kids are welcome, no pets please!
Inline links: https://plus.codes/849VVP5R+X5
Open Thread 375
March 31, 2025 · Original source
2: There’s another Manifest (Manifold-sponsored fun conference on prediction markets) this year. June 6-8 in Berkeley, tickets are $538 but look for various combos/deals/discounts. More information here.
Inline links: here
3: MATS (ML Alignment & Theory Scholars) is a bootcamp / research fellowship for people who want to get into AI alignment, security, or governance. This year's cohort is Jun 16 - Aug 22, in-person, in Berkeley. It's free, travel is reimbursed, and you get a $12,000 stipend. Read more / apply here, application deadline is April 18.
Inline links: here
Open Thread 382
May 19, 2025 · Original source
3: Constellation is an AI safety coworking space in Berkeley. They offer a fellowship where you can work at their office for 3-6 months. I’m there sometimes with the AI 2027 team and recommend it as a great place to work and meet people. Applications close June 13.
Inline links: a fellowship where you can work at their office for 3-6 months
Open Thread 383
May 26, 2025 · Original source
3: Less Online and Manifest are rationalist blogosphere and prediction market conferences, respectively, held at the same Berkeley venue one week apart in late May / early June. Guests (attending at least one; check which) include me, Eliezer, Zvi, Aella, Nate Silver, and some of the AI 2027 team. Last-minute tickets still available. In between the two is Arbor Summer Camp, a lower-key, longer “experimental learning” event. It includes some trading/startup related classes, featuring Ricki Heicklen, Austin Chen, and others. Check out their startup workshop and startup pitch competition.
Inline links: Less Online, Manifest, Arbor Summer Camp, startup workshop, startup pitch competition
Open Thread 384
June 02, 2025 · Original source
1: ACX meetup this week in Berkeley (Wed 6:30, 2740 Telegraph). I’ll probably advertise this as a main post tomorrow, but just getting it out there early.
Inline links: meetup
Berkeley Meetup This Wednesday
June 03, 2025 · Original source
Where: Lighthaven, 2740 Telegraph Ave, Berkeley.
Inline links: Lighthaven
Open Thread 390
July 14, 2025 · Original source
Metagame 2025, a game and puzzle design conference that is also itself an immersive megagame, is happening September 12-14 at Lighthaven in Berkeley. Early bird tickets are $500 through July 17th. If you're interested in getting involved, contact Ricki Heicklen or join the Discord.
Inline links: Metagame 2025, Ricki Heicklen, join the Discord
Open Thread 393
August 04, 2025 · Original source
2: Lighthaven (the rationalist community campus in Berkeley) is hosting Inkhaven - a blogging bootcamp aimed at people who want to blog more but struggle with motivation. Selected fellows will live on site for the month of November, and write one blog post per day or else be kicked out. There will be some mentors around including Gwern, Scott Aaronson, and me. I don’t want to over-endorse this - I have no idea whether it will create any kind of lasting motivation or tendency that sticks around after the program, for most people blogging is a low-reward activity, and the cost is pretty steep - but I think it’s a good experiment for Lighthaven to try, and trust potential applicants to make good choices for their own situation. Cost is $2,000 (program only) to $3,500 (program plus housing for one month) to $4,700 (program _ housing + meals). Some financial assistance available. Apply here. And yeah, they should have called it “Writehaven”.
Inline links: Inkhaven, here
Fall Meetups Everywhere - Call for Organizers
August 06, 2025 · Original source
I have in the past and had a lot of fun, but also found it pretty tiring. Since I expect to have less time and energy for travel, I’ll probably just attend the local one in Berkeley.
Meetups Everywhere 2025: Times and Places
August 29, 2025 · Original source
I’ll provisionally be attending the Berkeley meetup.
Contact: Charles Smith Contact Info: nwa_rationality[period]humid012[a t]silomails[period]com Time: Wednesday, September 24th, 5:00 PM Location: Loafin' Joe's- Fayetteville Coordinates: https://plus.codes/86873R6Q+P5 California BERKELEY Contact: Scott and Skyler Contact Info: skyler[a t]rationalitymeetups[period]org Time: Tuesday, September 9th, 6:30 PM Location: 2740 Telegraph Ave, Berkeley Coordinates: https://plus.codes/849VVP5R+X5 Group Link: bayrationality.com Notes: Children welcome, please no pets. We’ll have food, and possibly Q&A with Scott.
Inline links: https://plus.codes/86873R6Q+P5, https://plus.codes/849VVP5R+X5, bayrationality.com
Contact: Scott and Skyler Contact Info: skyler[a t]rationalitymeetups[period]org Time: Tuesday, September 9th, 6:30 PM Location: 2740 Telegraph Ave, Berkeley Coordinates: https://plus.codes/849VVP5R+X5 Group Link: bayrationality.com Notes: Children welcome, please no pets. We’ll have food, and possibly Q&A with Scott.
Inline links: https://plus.codes/849VVP5R+X5, bayrationality.com
Open Thread 397
September 01, 2025 · Original source
3: Meetups this week in Athens, Markham, Bozeman, Barcelona, Bucharest, Dayton, Dubai, Edinburgh, Erlangen, Klang Valley, Lyon, Manhattan/NYC, Newton (MA), Northampton (MA), Simi Valley, Vancouver, Williamsburg, and Zurich, see the meetups post for more. And two minor corrections: Berkeley is on Tuesday (not Thursday), and London is on Saturday (not Friday).
Inline links: the meetups post
Berkeley Meetup This Tuesday
September 07, 2025 · Original source
Why: We’re having another round of fall meetups, and Berkeley is one of them. I’m signal-boosting this one because it’s usually our biggest, and because I plan to be there.
Inline links: another round of fall meetups
Where: Lighthaven, 2740 Telegraph Ave, Berkeley.
Inline links: Lighthaven
Open Thread 398
September 08, 2025 · Original source
1: Meetups this week include Abuja, Dublin, Ho Chi Minh City, London, Manchester, Montevideo, Montreal, Moscow, Munich, Nairobi, Ottawa, Rio, Santiago, Singapore, Stockholm, Tokyo, Baltimore, Berkeley, Madison, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Seattle, and many others. And late additions to the meetup list include Vilnius, Haifa, Vegas, and Durham. See the list for more.
Inline links: Berkeley, the list
My Antichrist Lecture
October 22, 2025 · Original source
We can do better. Earlier this year, at the Manifest forecasting conference in Berkeley, I gave a presentation titled “Forecasting Transformative AI Using The Book Of Revelation”. Given the renewed interest in this topic, I repost it below, in written form, with slight edits. The first two-thirds, including the section on the Antichrist, is free. In deference to the injunction by prior researchers on this topic not to “cast one’s pearls before swine”, the last third (including the Whore of Babylon, the Battle of Armageddon, and the New Jerusalem) will be paywalled.
Inline links: Manifest forecasting conference
Open Thread 405
October 27, 2025 · Original source
5: Forethought (AI preparedness research org including Will MacAskill, Tom Davidson, etc) wants to hire more researchers. Offices in Oxford/Berkeley, slight bias towards people in these areas but remote work possible. Salaries £80,000 - £150,000 depending on qualifications and seniority. Must be, uh, good at research, I think this looks more like academic philosophy or economic modeling than like training LLMs, but it’s pretty vague. Learn more and apply here.
Inline links: Learn more and apply here
Open Thread 406
November 03, 2025 · Original source
1: Constellation is an office building that hosts much of the Bay Area AI safety ecosystem. They are hiring for several positions, including research program manager, “talent mobilization lead”, operations coordinator, and junior and senior IT coordinators. All positions full-time and in-person in Berkeley, see links for details.
Inline links: research program manager, talent mobilization lead, operations coordinator, junior, senior IT coordinators
What Happened To SF Homelessness?
November 12, 2025 · Original source
…preliminary results look discouraging. Why? Some experts argue that the clearing of open-air markets shifts the dealer-addict relationship from an iterated game to a one-shot: since law enforcement prevents anyone from staying in the same place too long, addicts move from dealer to dealer, encouraging dealers to try exploitative strategies rather than cultivating repeat customers. Those exploitative strategies include toxic or spiked merchandise, hence the increased overdoses. Others argue that the harm reduction programs successfully reduced harm, and stopping them had the predictable effect. But it looks to me like things get worse slightly before Mayor Lurie took office, and that in any case the new regime is a return to form after an anomalous trough. This article argues that none of this has anything to do with local policy; some foreign countries successfully cracked down on fentanyl in 2024, raising prices and creating a shortage. Then in 2025 the traffickers recovered, and supply came back. Everyone Accuses Everyone Else Of Shipping Them Homeless People Look too closely into discussions of why homelessness is up or down in some particular city, and you’ll find dark murmurs about how they’re shipping problem individuals away, or getting duped by other cities doing the same to them. The Berkelians say SF has sent its homeless to Berkeley. The Oaklanders say no, to Oakland. The Sacramentans say Sacramento. And don’t forget the ones sent to other states! Meanwhile, former SF mayor Gavin Newsom has claimed that the majority of its own homeless people come from Texas (this is obviously false). Some of these claims make sense. San Francisco has three programs that bus its homeless people out of the city. Previously, they would only do this if social workers could prove the person had a family member willing to support them in the new city. More recently, they lowered this standard to “some connection” to the destination. But I don’t think this caused a large drop in SF homelessness, for three reasons. First, we have no evidence that any such drop in homeless numbers occurred - just a decrease in tent encampments and visible dysfunction. Second, the new lower-standards busing program only got about 100 people a year - pretty small compared to the scale of the problem. Third, the data above show general homelessness declines across California. If SF were exporting its homeless, you would expect other counties’ numbers to increase. Instead, it seems more likely that SF’s numbers are going down (if they are going down) for the same reason as everyone else’s. We’ll have more information next year, when Alameda County releases homelessness numbers. Alameda, which contains Oakland and Berkeley, is a natural export destination for San Francisco. So What Happened To Homelessness? This is a maximally boring story. There’s a natural tradeoff where governments can enforce laws against the homeless in ways that make them less visible and annoying, at the cost of making their lives harder, eg it can take away their tents. In the past, they didn’t do this, out of a combination of tender-heartedness and legal restrictions. After the homeless became extremely visible and annoying, voters felt less tender-hearted, and the courts lifted the legal restrictions. So cities took the tradeoff. This is the big effect that everyone noticed. At the same time, there were some small effects from increased funding, falling rents, drug market clearing, and busing programs. Realistically nobody would have noticed any of these; the big effect is from encampment clearing. Have we learned anything? I don’t think we learned the sort of thing we hoped we might learn, the lever we could push to solve everything with no downsides. But: I had previously thought there weren’t really any levers that could improve the problem at all, short of mass incarceration. I hadn’t considered that taking people’s tents and possessions would have such a strong aesthetic effect that most people would consider the problem solved from an annoyance/visibility perspective. I think my failure was some combination of 1: not realizing how much people hated tent encampments in particular, as opposed to (for example) weird people wandering the street in rags talking to themselves 2: not realizing how many options the homeless have for “lying low” when they really don’t want to be found (and therefore how elastic visible homelessness is with respect to legal crackdowns).
Inline links: preliminary results look discouraging, Some experts argue, to Berkeley, to Oakland, to other states, this is obviously false, has three programs
Open Thread 410
December 01, 2025 · Original source
5: If your response is noooo, I want to be paid money to do important work and change the world, then good news: the Institute for Law and AI summer research fellowship is accepting applications. They pay $1,500/week for a ten week fellowship, with the first week in DC or Berkeley and the next nine remote. They say that “we welcome applicants with various skill sets, experience levels, and degrees of knowledge in US AI, law, and policy” and that “previous Summer Research Fellows have gone on to pursue law and policy roles at the US Department of Commerce, leading AI labs, academia, and think tanks.”
Inline links: Institute for Law and AI summer research fellowship
Open Thread 413
December 22, 2025 · Original source
1: Another charity fundraiser, this one for Lightcone Infrastructure. Lightcone is the group that does the hard work for many of the rationalist community resources you enjoy. You probably know them from the Less Wrong website and the Lighthaven campus. But did you know they also designed the websites for AI 2027, for Eliezer and Nate’s book, for AI Lab Watch, and (for some reason) for Deciding To Win, a renegade faction of Democrats who believe that, instead of supporting unpopular policies and losing, the party should support popular policies and win? And on the side, they play a big role in hosting ACX meetups, including letting us use their campus (if you’ve ever been to our Berkeley meetup location, that was them). They’re a rare intersection between “support effective altruist charities” and “support pillars of your your local community”. Donate here, or contact Oli if you have some kind of more complicated donation-related need.
Inline links: Lightcone Infrastructure, Less Wrong, Lighthaven, AI 2027, Eliezer and Nate’s book, AI Lab Watch, Deciding To Win, here
3: AI safety org MIRI is running a “technical governance team research fellowship” in early 2026. Technical governance is at the intersection of engineering and regulation, and includes things like designing chips with cryptographic off switches, or analyzing US and international law to see what levers different groups have to monitor AI training. The fellowship lasts 8 weeks (exact dates tbd but flexible), pays a $1200/week stipend, and will start with a one-week intro in Berkeley (flights/accommodations provided) followed by seven weeks potentially remote. No visa sponsorship. See here for more info or to apply.
Inline links: “technical governance team research fellowship”
Open Thread 414
December 29, 2025 · Original source
2: MATS - a research fellowship for people who want to get into AI alignment, interpretability, security, and governance - is accepting applications for their summer cohort. 12 weeks, in person in either Berkeley or London, fully funded with $15K stipend, $12K compute budget, free room/board/travel. Apply here, they say the application will take “1 - 2 hours”, deadline January 18.
Inline links: Apply here
Open Thread 418
January 26, 2026 · Original source
1: Inkhaven was a blogging residency/bootcamp/program in Berkeley last November. The conceit was that residents had to write one post per day for thirty days, or else get kicked out without a refund. I ran some sessions, and so did other people you might recognize like Gwern, Zvi, Ozy, Aella, and Scott Aaronson. People seemed to like it (average rating 8/10, see also reflections here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, etc; when you make forty people write every day, you sure do end up with a lot of written reflections on the experience). They’re doing it again this April, and you’re invited to apply. You’ll need ~$3,500 (some scholarships available) and a month free. I plan to help again. Application deadline March 1.
Inline links: Inkhaven, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here
Spring Meetups Everywhere 2026 - Call For Organizers
March 13, 2026 · Original source
I have in the past, but this year I’ll probably only be able to make my local one in Berkeley.
Meetups Everywhere Spring 2026: Times & Places
April 01, 2026 · Original source
I’ll provisionally be attending the Berkeley and Zagreb meetups.
Contact: Cristina Contact Info: olsoncristina[@]gmail[.]com Time: Wednesday, April 29th, 6:00 PM Location: Pavilion at the Railyard Bike Park in Rogers, 299 E Cherry St, Rogers, AR 72756. Coordinates: https://plus.codes/86878VHP+G9C Notes: If it’s bad weather, we will meet somewhere else, please email for info. California BERKELEY Contact: Scott, Ari, and Skyler Contact Info: skyler[@]rationalitymeetups[.]org, ari[@]zerner[.]com Time: Wednesday, June 10th, 6:30 PM Location: 2740 Telegraph Ave, Berkeley Coordinates: https://plus.codes/849VVP5R+X5 Group Link: bayrationality.com Notes: Children welcome, please no pets. We’ll have food, and possibly Q&A with Scott. Held shortly after Less.Online, we expect a lot of neat out-of-town visitors.
Inline links: https://plus.codes/86878VHP+G9C, https://plus.codes/849VVP5R+X5
Contact: Scott, Ari, and Skyler Contact Info: skyler[@]rationalitymeetups[.]org, ari[@]zerner[.]com Time: Wednesday, June 10th, 6:30 PM Location: 2740 Telegraph Ave, Berkeley Coordinates: https://plus.codes/849VVP5R+X5 Group Link: bayrationality.com Notes: Children welcome, please no pets. We’ll have food, and possibly Q&A with Scott. Held shortly after Less.Online, we expect a lot of neat out-of-town visitors.
Inline links: https://plus.codes/849VVP5R+X5