This October 11-13, Columbus, Ohio will be holding our first mega-meetup. The theme will be:
"Leveling Up"
The site will be the HCCO conference room, and attendance will be limited to 60. Tickets will be sold in advance and will cover lunch (Tickets will be extremely cheap to buy in advance, and will pretty much just be the cost of lunch, rounded up. Their sole purpose is to reserve seats for attendees in a reasonable manner.)
If you think you might be coming, please leave a comment, along with a confidence estimation. Yes, I know the event is pretty far in the future, but an early RSVP will be extremely helpful to me! For example if you would be bringing two guests, and are 75% certain you will come:
J. Doe +2, 75%
Talks:
Note- October is far enough out in advance that all the details are tentative at this point.
Down the Rabbit Hole: Magic as Psychic Entertainment -Jack Strauss
Magician/Mentalist Jack Strauss will present a stage act as a psychic entertainer. Afterwards, there will be a sit-down talkback with the audience. Topics will be determined by audience questions and may include: ethics of performing on stage with a psychic persona, psychology of deception, techniques of cold reading, etc. The only topic off the table will be the specifics of how the act you just saw is performed.
Jesse Galef- Defense Against the Dark Arts
Elissa Caffery Fleming- Effective Altruism (tentative)
Amanda Metskas- The Next Generation (tentative)
Eric Huff- Applications of Models
Demitri Muna- Instrumental Improv workshop
Erica Edelman- Intro to Rationality
Other Events:
Friday we may do a swing dance class. Sunday we may go shopping.
Approximate Drive Times:
Dayton, OH- 1:00
Cincinnati, OH- 1:30
Cleveland, OH- 2:10
Toledo, OH- 2:20
Indianapolis, IN- 2:40
Fort Wayne, IN- 2:45
Pittsburgh, PA- 2:50
Lexington, KY- 3:00
Louisville, KY- 3:10
Detroit, MI- 3:15
Grand Rapids, MI- 4:50
Buffalo, MI- 5:00
Knoxville, TN- 5:15
Chicago, IL- 5:20
Nashville, TN- 5:30
Springfield, IL- 5:50
Rochester, NY- 6:00
Washington DC- 6:15
St Louis, MO- 6:20
Toronto, Canada- 6:30
Charlotte, NC- 6:40
Milwuakee, WI- 6:50
Philadelphia, PA- 7:15
NYC- 8:00
I'm Maia's +1, so don't count me again. I was wondering if there will be a place to crash: I can sleep on a floor no problem, if someone has one to offer.
Thanks for organizing this, by the way: I'm really looking forward to it!
Important Note: If you want to attend, but there are any logistical issues keeping you from coming (gas money, specific housing needs, etc), please let me know! I may be able to provide a solution, and I don't want someone missing out because they didn't ask!
Quick answer: Crash space will be available on a first come, first serve basis. Being willing to sleep on the floor pretty much guarantees you a spot.
Long answer: We're not far enough into planning yet to know exactly what the housing situation will be. I think it would be awesome to have everybody able to stay at the same place if I can find affordable weekend accommodations near our lecture site(s), but more likely each of our group members will be able to host a couple people each.
Has there been any news/developments on this (scheduled events, places to stay, estimated attendance)? I'm likely to come, with the DC-people.
Glad to hear of the interest! I updated the posting with current details.
In answer to your questions: Attendance to the talks is limited to 50 (our regular workshops bring up to the 30s in attendance). Because of this, we will be selling (very cheap) tickets which will cover Saturday lunch (it's just a way to hold people's places). More people will be at the talks, than at the rest of the weekend.The group of people hanging out for the rest of the weekend will be about 20, I'd guess. Friday we may do a swing dance lesson. Sunday we may do a shopping trip. Crash space will be provided to out-of-towners.
Currently scheduled talks include:
Down the Rabbit Hole: Magic as Psychic Entertainment -Jack Strauss
Magician/Mentalist Jack Strauss will present a stage act as a psychic entertainer. Afterwards, there will be a sit-down talkback with the audience. Topics will be determined by audience questions and may include: ethics of performing on stage with a psychic persona, psychology of deception, techniques of cold reading, etc. The only topic off the table will be the specifics of how the act you just saw is performed.
Jesse Galef- Defense Against the Dark Arts: The Ethics and Psychology of Persuasion
Elissa Caffery Fleming- Effective Altruism (tentative)
Amanda Metskas- The Next Generation (tentative)
Eric Huff- Applications of Models
Demitri Muna- Instrumental Improv workshop
Erica Edelman- Intro to Rationality
20% chance I'll make it.
I'm likely to come (70%) , and could present if desired :)
40% chance of me going.
50% chance I'll make it.
Well, If there will be swing dancing...
I'll come, maybe with 1/2 of an extra person - october's a ways off.
I'll be coming and hopefully bringing some non-LW folk who live in the area.
Washington DC RSVP thread:
Me! Also, you. (80%) (Don't double count)
me 30%, would need crash space
This sounds awesome.
Me +1, 80% probability.
Also, are you sure you don't mean "Julia" Galef?
Looking forward to seeing you there!
Yes, I'm sure. Jesse and Julia are siblings. You can read their pretty awesome rationality blog here
Oh, cool! (I might have met Jesse at minicamp, but didn't pick up on the fact that they were siblings if I did.)