Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: LessWrong Community Weekend 2024, open for applications, published by UnplannedCauliflower on May 1, 2024 on LessWrong.
Main event page
Friday 13th September- Monday 16th September 2024 is the 11th annual Less Wrong Community Weekend (LWCW) in Berlin. This is the world's largest rationalist social gathering which brings together 250+ aspiring rationalists from across Europe and beyond for four days of intellectual exploration, socialising and fun.
We're expanding to 250+ participants and taking over the whole hostel. This year there will only be us during the event: a huge variety of spaces to talk, relax and have fun with a higher sense of security and freedom.
The EAGx and LWCW happen this year during the same weekend, due to limited availability of conference centres. It is an unkind choice having to pick one community over the other. To freely decide which sessions to attend and where, we will offer a reduced ticket that includes 3x bed & breakfast at the hostel for you to enjoy the unique LWCW atmosphere and community, as well as join the talks at EAGx during the day.
We are delighted to have Anna Riedl for this year's key note. Anna is a cognitive scientist and conducts research on rationality under radical uncertainty, a phenomenon in the intersection of psychology, economics, neuroscience and artificial intelligence, directly relevant for improving human and institutional decision-making in real life.
That said the majority of the content will be participant driven in an unconference style: on Friday afternoon we put up six wall-sized daily planners and by Saturday morning the attendees fill them up with 100+ workshops, talks and activities of their own devising. Most are prepared upfront but some are just made up on the spot when inspiration hits.
Previous years' schedules have included…
Double Cruxing
Hamming Circles
Gendlin Focusing
Applied Rationality workshops
Circling
Authentic Relating games
Improvisation theater
Introduction to stand up comedy
Writing rationalist fiction
Dance workshops
Acapella singing
Icebreaker games
Lightning talks
Celebrating failure groups
Giant outdoor chess Penultima
Dungeons & Dragons
Kung Fu basics
Board games
Breathwork workshops
Ecstatic dancing
Radical Honesty workshops
Playfighting for adults
Polyamory and relationships workshops
Sex Q&A roundtable
Quantified self workshops
Moral philosophy debates
AI safety Q&A
How to handle fear of AI Doom
Value drift in EA
The neurobiology of psychedelics
The science of longevity
Morning runs and yoga
Meditation in the rooftop winter garden
Night time swimming
Bedtime story readings
Personal note from Henry: If things like ecstatic dancing, radical honesty and polyamory workshops sound too intense for you, rest assured everything is optional. I'm a nerd and very awkward so a lot of this stuff terrifies me.
The event takes place in the natural environs of Lake Wannsee on the outskirts of Berlin. So you can spend time recharging in between making new friends by hiking in the forests, sunbathing or swimming in the lake.
LWCW is family & LGBTQIA+ friendly. After last year's amazing experience we're are increasing our effort into creating an event where people of all ages, genders, backgrounds and experiences feel like home. What brings us together are 3 things:
1. The curiosity for new perspectives to gain a truthful understanding of the universe and its inhabitants.
2. A passion for developing practices that achieve our personal goals and as such those of humanity at large.
3. Caring for empathetic relationships that support and inspire us on our journey.
If you're excited to come, please consider sharing this announcement on social media or sending the link to a friend or like minded communities who might enjoy attending. Feedback from attendees along the lines of "consistently my favou...
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