I really liked the visual/story description you gave for what joining a group could look like; I really appreciate how memorable an idea can be when presented in that style. In that story, I also recognized the way I’ve felt in many of my interactions with the EA community thus far, which makes me wonder whether I’ve gotten a skewed sense for what “most EA circles” spend time on.
I’ve been a part of four different EA groups, three of which were more focused around social activity than anything cerebral (Madison, San Diego, Yale). The exception (EA Epic, a corporate group) had members who lived far apart, mostly existed during a Wisconsin fall/winter, and always met after workdays, which made planning social activities a bit harder. But my general sense is that most EA groups actually are fairly social/inclusive in the way you propose.
(This may be part of why we’re seen as quite welcoming, though survey bias is likely a stronger factor in that case.)
How much time groups spend on cerebral/meritocratic vs. social/inclusive activities might be a good thing to figure out through the EA Survey; I’ll suggest it as a potential topic for this year.
I really liked the visual/story description you gave for what joining a group could look like; I really appreciate how memorable an idea can be when presented in that style. In that story, I also recognized the way I’ve felt in many of my interactions with the EA community thus far, which makes me wonder whether I’ve gotten a skewed sense for what “most EA circles” spend time on.
I’ve been a part of four different EA groups, three of which were more focused around social activity than anything cerebral (Madison, San Diego, Yale). The exception (EA Epic, a corporate group) had members who lived far apart, mostly existed during a Wisconsin fall/winter, and always met after workdays, which made planning social activities a bit harder. But my general sense is that most EA groups actually are fairly social/inclusive in the way you propose.
(This may be part of why we’re seen as quite welcoming, though survey bias is likely a stronger factor in that case.)
How much time groups spend on cerebral/meritocratic vs. social/inclusive activities might be a good thing to figure out through the EA Survey; I’ll suggest it as a potential topic for this year.