I want to provide a little bit of narrative. At an AVA Conference I took some silly pictures with people; we still wanted to cause change in food systems and reduce the number of animals that suffer, and we took 60 seconds to giggle and pose for pictures. At an EA book discussion group folks were smiling and friendly while discussing moral philosophy and career issues. At an EAG conference I got a group of people together to have afternoon tea and we had light-hearted chitchat, even through we all desperately wanted to reduce suffering in the world. At an EAGx conference folks got together for drinks and dinner, with lots of laughter and non-serious topics.
Tentatively, I want to say that it is possible for serious pursuits and for enjoyment/fun to co-exist, although I’m less confident if is is realistic to expect a large number of strangers to do so on an internet forum. The type of fun probably matters a lot: I don’t want to see the EA Forum become filled with memes and jokes, even if they are EA-relevant.
I want to provide a little bit of narrative. At an AVA Conference I took some silly pictures with people; we still wanted to cause change in food systems and reduce the number of animals that suffer, and we took 60 seconds to giggle and pose for pictures. At an EA book discussion group folks were smiling and friendly while discussing moral philosophy and career issues. At an EAG conference I got a group of people together to have afternoon tea and we had light-hearted chitchat, even through we all desperately wanted to reduce suffering in the world. At an EAGx conference folks got together for drinks and dinner, with lots of laughter and non-serious topics.
Tentatively, I want to say that it is possible for serious pursuits and for enjoyment/fun to co-exist, although I’m less confident if is is realistic to expect a large number of strangers to do so on an internet forum. The type of fun probably matters a lot: I don’t want to see the EA Forum become filled with memes and jokes, even if they are EA-relevant.