How to Find Us: Go into this Del Taco. We will be in the back room if possible.
Parking is free in the lot out front or on the street nearby.
Discussion: Checking assumptions is important. Sometimes that can be a matter of thinking things through yourself, but often we are better off looking for what other people have found. The first hurdle is to notice that we can check an assumption in this way -- often we do not even get that far. Once we've thought of actually checking, a simple search or wikipedia check may be sufficient. Sometimes, however, we need to dive deeper.
Where do you look for information? What do you do if a search brings up contradictory information? If an issue is not "settled science", do you give up? How do you decide whether an article is BS? How do you account for the relative weight of evidence from anecdotal answers to a question vs scientific research? How do you weight arguments against empirical evidence?
Recommended Reading:
This will be a bring-your-own-recommended-reading meetup! This forces you to practice the skill of investigating, differentiating useful references, and so on. Please make the assumption that no one else will do this and you'll have to be the only person bringing any useful information.
No prior exposure to Less Wrong is required; this will be generally accessible.
Discussion article for the meetup : West LA: Fact-Checking
WHEN: 16 September 2015 07:00:00PM (-0700)
WHERE: 11066 santa monica blvd, la, ca
How to Find Us: Go into this Del Taco. We will be in the back room if possible.
Parking is free in the lot out front or on the street nearby.
Discussion: Checking assumptions is important. Sometimes that can be a matter of thinking things through yourself, but often we are better off looking for what other people have found. The first hurdle is to notice that we can check an assumption in this way -- often we do not even get that far. Once we've thought of actually checking, a simple search or wikipedia check may be sufficient. Sometimes, however, we need to dive deeper.
Where do you look for information? What do you do if a search brings up contradictory information? If an issue is not "settled science", do you give up? How do you decide whether an article is BS? How do you account for the relative weight of evidence from anecdotal answers to a question vs scientific research? How do you weight arguments against empirical evidence?
Recommended Reading:
This will be a bring-your-own-recommended-reading meetup! This forces you to practice the skill of investigating, differentiating useful references, and so on. Please make the assumption that no one else will do this and you'll have to be the only person bringing any useful information.
No prior exposure to Less Wrong is required; this will be generally accessible.
Discussion article for the meetup : West LA: Fact-Checking