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CFAR has put in so much thought/work into creating those workshops in Berkeley for Applied Rationality. Why aren't there any experiments in doing online workshops/discussions/co-learning spaces for the content available in CFAR handbooks?
Is there any interest among lesswrong members to do online meetups or clubs centered around the content (including other similar ideas posted on lesswrong) in the CFAR handbook? I am curious about the mediums that will allow teaching/learning of such ideas on a larger scale.
I started one such experiment on hyperlink academy (new platform for testing rare course/club ideas) but not sure yet if it is the right way to go. Very interested in finding out what fellow lesswrongers think about this.
From what I heard from CFAR staffs, the point of CFAR workshops is not to teach you a bunch of techniques but to give people agency over the way they think. If you have a 1-hour call once a week that talks about one technique you are very unlikely to get the effect that CFAR workshops are about.
If you want to create some online learning framework you need a theory of action for the framework. What's the goal of your course why do you think your course will have that effect? While it's certainly possible to create something that works well online, that task is not about simply copying CFAR material.
Matt Goldenberg is one LessWronger who actually created an online learning product with https://www.procrastinationplaybook.net
What's the goal of your course why do you think your course will have that effect?
I am less interested in experiments in courses that copy CFAR material and more into experiments that discuss, co-learn and tinker with the ideas that CFAR teaches in their workshop. So initially the "goals" of such experiments will be unclear other than learning if there are ways to extract something useful (online and at a larger scale) out of applied rationality"ideas discussed/authored at CFAR and lesswrong.
I think it's very unlikely that you can do that effectively in a format of one hour per week with different topics every week and no planned feedback mechanism.
You are probably right about that. But I wanted to start with something and with the first cohort, decided to simply follow the format that most clubs/courses follow on hyperlink (I should say though that I do have some feedback mechanisms in mind). And it is planned as just an "introduction" to some of these ideas.
You already mentioned spending more time on fewer topics. Do you have any other ideas in mind in terms of formats that would have the potential to work online?
I think one of the key features of online as opposed to offline is that you already have a computer in the loop.
That means it's easier to send a Google Form around to gather information. Both at the end of a session and at the beginning of a session to gather data about the effects of the last session. While it's possible to create more task optimized systems then Google Forms, Google Forms is likely a good solution for the first iteration.