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I'm not sure how to interpret this information. So there's recognition that there's a problem, at least. Should this encourage or discourage me from signing up?
The objective of the conference appears to be to build/strengthen a young cryonicist community in the US. If you think this is a good idea, your objective should be to make close friends there, especially among people that you expect to interact with more frequently in the future (people living near you, working in your industry etc).
My advice is that you should not feel as if you need to get to know all 40 participants and the X number of organizers. Three days is not a whole lot of time, but it is enough to get to know some people quite well. The program looks structured in a way to help you screen people easily (emphasis on group introductions) and then give you space to go hang out with them, so identify the (5~10) people you think are worth investing time in getting to know first. Do not attempt to get to know everyone, you just don't have the time or energy for that.
You could tattoo it across your chest, Memento-style and see it every time you shower. That might help you remember.
Hmm. It might be useful to repeat Yvain's survey to see if there's been any change, while adding the edu/work stuff in.
Yes, I'm happy to work on this and make a google form.
The questions would be very basic demographic stuff like age, gender, occupation, highest level of education attained, fields of study, country of residence...
The next step would be getting a high participation.
I agree completely. Exercise is not something that I enjoy intrinsically. It often comes down to sheer willpower to delay slowing down on the treadmill or finish the last set of reps, and willpower is sometimes lacking, even though I can rationally foresee the benefits of having a ripped, jacked body. Yes, endorphins are supposed to kick in and provide a positive feedback loop, but apparently not one strong enough to make me feel happy about going to the gym. I would be very interested in being able to make all of this less miserable.
But my reference point for feelings tends to shift over time...
I agree with you that its a false dichotomy, but I'm not entirely sure that I can become friends with a girl on OKC who is not otherwise attracted to me. In my mind, she's not here looking for friends, she's looking for potential suitors, and if I'm not one, she simply doesn't respond or responds in a perfunctory manner, and never invests the time that would be required to make a new friend. If she does, our friendship is tainted by the knowledge that I am attracted to her (otherwise I wouldn't have contacted her in the first place), and then we're in the age old question from countless romcom chick flicks.
Yes, it's possible, but if the objective is to maximize close friendships made per time spent socializing, OKC is not the most efficient way to do so. meetup.com is.
Keep an open mind, you might be surprised. There might be a few thoughtful libertarians there just because its a focal point for people of that persuasion.
If you're in a low activity area, that might mean that you have to take more initiative and be more of a leader/organizer in making things happen. Create your own Rationalist community :)
OKC is probably not a good venue for making friends since that's not what most people signing up for it primarily intend. The context of interaction is tainted with romance.
Formulate methods of validating the SIAI’s execution of goals. It appears that the Summit is an example of efficient execution of the reducing existential risk goal by legitimizing the existential risk and AGI problem space and by building networks among interested individuals. How will donors verify the value of SIAI core research work in coming years?
This is the key to assessing organizational effectiveness. There are various outputs we can measure: The growth of the LW community and its activities are surely important ones. We might also want to have a survey of LW members to see what the demographics are, the growth areas, the development areas etc. Media coverage is another, maybe measured through something like pagerank. Site traffic.
Consider relocating to a cheaper part of the planet. Research Fellows will likely have to accept lower than market average compensation for their work or no compensation at all. Better to live in an area where compensation goes farther.
It should be noted that Givewell moved to India. Well, temporarily anyway.
While I think SIAI work is made better by constant contact and interaction with industry and academia clusters in the bay area, it might make sense for the organization itself to be legally based somewhere else for tax purposes etc.
Yes, I want to know that steps have been taken to minimize the possibility future thefts.
I don't think you need to limit yourself to the LW community. I'm fairly certain that you can relate to a lot of other people. Start checking out meetup.com for local groups near you that sound interesting, and make some friends. I don't know how grown ups make friends, though.
Reading this made me cry, because I suspect we are very similar, with only slightly different circumstances. I wish I could have saved him. I wonder if I could have saved him.
MOPI/Revelation passage come to mind.
Was that true in this case? The post on suicide dates from 2009.
Does being aware that your depressed self is irrational change your thinking while being in a depressed state? It should! But I suspect it doesn't.
Yes, if we think of depression as a sort of temporary state from which we eventually revert to the mean level of happiness. However, I think in a state of depression one tends to believe it to be a permanent, unchanging state.
I second this. There are certain circumstances under which it would make sense to get preserved asap. You probably don't have them.
Please don't let this influence your decision. Cryonics outcomes are still so uncertain that for them to enter your calculus right now is probably irrational. Live as long as you can before having to roll the dice.
That said, you want something that is physically recoverable and also legally permissible (autopsy free, access to body etc). This is very tricky and you will need better advice that I can offer.
was also incapable of applying my knowledge that it probably wasn't going to get better
I am interested in hearing about your reasoning here.
Perhaps some kind of simulated near-death experience?
People may for instance be severely mistaken about their prospects for improvement, especially while in the midst of acute crisis.(Conceivably, that could even have been his own situation.)
At the risk of sounding callous, because I did not know Chris or understand the suffering he was going through, I believe that Chris was wrong about this. I'm not sure that one can have enough certainty over (the lack of) future happiness that one can reasonably decide to cut one's losses.
There is a great deal of uncertainty and randomness in life. Good things (and bad things) do happen, and they can happen suddenly and without warning. There were many such instances in my own life, when I thought that things were probably not going to get any better even despite my best efforts, and then, they did so serendipitously. The girlfriend I never thought would be interested in me. The job I never dreamed I would have the chance to have. Life is unfair, but sometimes we get lucky too. Given this uncertainty, isn't it better to err on the side of caution and choose to live?
I wish Chris had chosen life, and if there are any others out there feeling as he did, please reconsider, and if you really truly must, do it in a way that is cryonics-recoverable and have the proper arrangements in place.
I think one should distinguish between making the college experience easier (less group work, fewer spoken communication requirements) and helping autism spectrum students progress towards high social function. It is possible that the former will inhibit the latter. I hope you will find a balance between the two... it would be very sad if autism spectrum students left the comfort zone of college daycare and were unprepared to be harshly thrust into social reality where the boss really wants you to be a team player.
This is very similar to my own trajectory. I wonder if it is a common path.
Politics is my life and career. One of the ways I am trying to circumvent irrational behavior in others with regard to politics is not to disclose one's political affiliation ever or be very ambiguous about it, and learn to speak the language and seemingly share the concerns and beliefs of my conversant. Then, ask subtly leading questions about the consistency and empirical validity of those beliefs.
Yes, it's not the most honest thing to do, but I believe this disarms the irrational, tribal psychology at work and enables a more fruitful discussion. "The slow blade penetrates the shield" and all that.
What does it mean to 'optimize' for rationality outreach? Increasing membership or improving leadership?
Would an Xtranormal animation count?