Anders Huitfeldt will lead a discussion about whether taking ideas seriously is likely to increase the accuracy of mental maps, in the case of agents with human-level intelligence. For Less Wrong regulars this will be basic review, and for non-regulars it may be a useful introduction. He will have some slides, but he hopes that this will be an interactive discussion rather than a presentation.
It would be helpful to look over the following before the meetup:
Reason as memetic immune disorder by Phil Goetz
Epistemic learned helplessness by Scott Alexander
Taking ideas seriously by Will Newsome
Cambridge/Boston-area Less Wrong meetups start at 3:30pm, and have an alternating location:
1st Sunday meetups are at Citadel in Porter Sq, at 98 Elm St, apt 1, Somerville.
3rd Sunday meetups are in MIT's building 66 at 25 Ames St, room 156. Room number subject to change based on availability; signs will be posted with the actual room number.
(We also have last Wednesday meetups at Citadel at 7pm.)
Our default schedule is as follows:
—Phase 1: Arrival, greetings, unstructured conversation.
—Phase 2: The headline event. This starts promptly at 4pm, and lasts 30-60 minutes.
—Phase 3: Further discussion. We'll explore the ideas raised in phase 2, often in smaller groups.
—Phase 4: Dinner.