February 14th: Words
Roxolan
This February, we will talk about the way we talk.
Yudkowsky has written quite a lot on that topic in the early days of LessWrong, collected into the sequence A human's guide to words (also available as a 5$ podcast). My personal favourite is the more practical Taboo Your Words.
I have, on many occasions, attempted to resolve an apparent conflict by
asking someone to replace a word with its definition and it never works because not enough people have read the damn article and the inferential distance is too damn big.
*notices anger, snaps fingers*
tugce also suggested the movie Is the Man Who Is Tall Happy?,
an animated conversation between Michel Gondry and Noam Chomsky. I have
to admit I know almost nothing of Chomsky. If anyone can recommend a
good starting point, by next month I will feel very guilty about not
having read it.
This meetup marks the third-year anniversary of LessWrong Brussels.
There will be an item of soft sweet food made from a mixture of flour,
fat, eggs, sugar, and other ingredients, baked and possibly iced or
decorated.
______
We will meet at 1 pm at "La Fleur en papier doré", close to the Brussels Central station. Depending on the weather, we may also spend some time outside. The meeting will be in English to facilitate both French and Dutch speaking members.
Meetup announcements are mirrored on Meetup.com
If you are coming for the first time, please consider filling out this one minute form to share your contact information.