Less Wrong members sometimes arrange meetups (or "dojos") to meet each other in meatspace. Some geographic areas have groups that do this regularly. This page lists tips and resources for Less Wrong meetup groups.

How to Run a Successful Less Wrong Meetup is a extended primer on running meetups, but starting one is actually very easy. Another great place to get information is Maia's Meetup Cookbook.

If you are a meetup organizer or interested in starting a meetup, consider signing up for the LW Organizers mailing list here. The mailing list has a thread about sharing materials.

There is also a facebook group for organisers to talk to each other

Most of this data comes from the post Less Wrong NYC: Case Study of a Successful Rationalist Chapter. (For more on Less Wrong NYC, see Epistle to the New York Less Wrongians.)

Organization tips

Meetup activities

Social / unfocused discussions. Attendance is usually poor; members report that hanging out is harder to justify than having a specific purpose.
Specific discussion topics. Attendance is good. Break into small groups to make better progress. Here are some resources for finding discussion topics:
- London Rationalish Readings
- Seattle Reading Group Notes
- Log of Ottawa's past meetups on Facebook
Presentation / skill training. Attendance is good if the topic interests many people.
Game nights. This can include rationality training games like Biased Pandemic, Paranoid Debating, and poker.
Group planning / meta. Usually just for group leaders.
Structured exercises. Attendance varies. Example from NYC Less Wrong: Fun and Games with Cognitive Biases.
Party time.

Discussion topics

Tell your rationalist success story.
Basics of rationality.
Cognitive biases.
The sequences.
Decision theory.
Friendly AI.

Need help?

Feel free to contact lesswrong user Elo to ask questions about planning or running a meetup.

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