Hello folks!
I am glad to announce the Sixth of a continuing series of Orange County ACX/LW meetups. Meeting this Saturday and most Saturdays. The first few meetings were great (approximately 8 to 10 people), and I hope to see many of you at this one. Snacks will be available.
Saturday, 9/24/22, 2 pm
1900 Port Carlow Place, Newport Beach, 92660
The Picnic tables outside the community clubhouse
33.6173166789459, -117.85885652037152
https://goo.gl/maps/WmzxQhBM2vdpJvz39
Plus code 8554J48R+WFJ
Contact me, Michael, at michaelmichalchik+acxlw@gmail.com with questions or requests.
Activities (all activities are optional)
A) Two conversation starter topics this week will be. (readings at the end)
1) The FermiParadox (why don’t we see a lot of aliens)
2) The collapse of civilizations
B) We will also have the card game Predictably Irrational. Feel free to bring your own favorite games or distractions. This is a pet-friendly park and meeting.
C) There will be opportunities to go for a walk and talk about an hour after the meeting starts and use some gas barbeques if anyone wants to grill something. There are two easy-access mini-malls nearby with takeout hot food available. Search for Gelson's or Pavilions in the zipcode 92660. I will provide some snacks and water.
D) Share a surprise! Tell the group about something that happened that was unexpected or changed the way you look at the universe.
E) Make a prediction and give a probability and end condition.
F) Contribute ideas to the future direction of the group. Topics, types of meetings, activities, etc.
Conversation Starter Readings:
Suggested readings for this week are these summaries. These readings are optional, but if you do them, think about what you find interesting, surprising, useful, questionable, vexing, or exciting. This week we are going to try some videos.
1) The only popularizer I have ever seen get the essential elements of the Fermi Paradox correct is Isaac Arthur. Every other popularizer I have seen misses or misunderstands some essential piece that makes a wide variety of solutions seem plausible. He has a lisp, but if you can cope with that, this is a great overview of the main ideas and what seems to be wrong with them.
The Fermi Paradox Compendium
2) The collapse of civilizations. This is a summary of an MIT analysis that from decades ago predicted that we would face civilizational collapse. A recent review indicates that based on the parameters they were looking at, we are ahead of schedule. Do you think this is a good assessment? Do you think it is comprehensive enough? Do you think we are in a decline but have gotten so used to the ways our civilization is decaying that we underestimate how far it has gone? Are the factors leading to civilizational collapse invisible or ignored b the general population? Do technological progress and cultural innovations change what we should be looking at?
MIT Has Predicted that Society Will Collapse in 2040 | Economics Explained
https://youtu.be/kVOTPAxrrP4
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