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.