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Hey, I'm in Rochester, and, though it's hard to get to Buffalo, I'd really like to work on rationality skills with others. Do you have meetings in Buffalo often, and how should I stay in the loop about them?
Hello, everyone!
I'd been religious (Christian) my whole life, but was always plagued with the question, "How would I know this is the correct religion, if I'd grown up with a different cultural norm?" I concluded, after many years of passive reflection, that, no, I probably wouldn't have become Christian at all, given that there are so many good people who do not. From there, I discovered that I was severely biased toward Christianity, and in an attempt to overcome that bias, I became atheist before I realized it.
I know that last part is a common idiom that's usually hyperpole, but I really did become atheist well before I consciously knew I was. I remember reading HPMOR, looking up lesswrong.com, reading the post on "Belief in Belief", and realizing that I was doing exactly that: explaining an unsupported theory by patching the holes, instead of reevaluating and updating, given the evidence.
It's been more than religion, too, but that's the area where I really felt it first. Next projects are to apply the principles to my social and professional life.