My experience is similar, about half people are impressive, and the other half is… something I associate with Mensa.
If the group is large enough, it may be possible to create subgroups for specific projects. But if you have fewer than ten rationalists coming to the local meetup, this is not an option. Unfortunately, I guess most local groups are small.
I suspect that asperger syndrome is correlated with aspiring to rationality; things like disagreeing with the social consensus. I am not saying that it is necessary per se—in a more sane society, the tension between social agreeableness and aiming for truth would be smaller, and even in the current society some people seem to manage it fine somehow. Also, too much nitpicking just keeps you maps blank instead of more precise. I am an asperger myself, but I try to see my weaknesses as weaknesses rather than rationalize them as superpowers.
I guess, ultimately different people expect different things from the meetups; it might be good to communicate this explicitly. But you need some minimum size of the meetup to find people who share your current goals.
My experience is similar, about half people are impressive, and the other half is… something I associate with Mensa.
If the group is large enough, it may be possible to create subgroups for specific projects. But if you have fewer than ten rationalists coming to the local meetup, this is not an option. Unfortunately, I guess most local groups are small.
I suspect that asperger syndrome is correlated with aspiring to rationality; things like disagreeing with the social consensus. I am not saying that it is necessary per se—in a more sane society, the tension between social agreeableness and aiming for truth would be smaller, and even in the current society some people seem to manage it fine somehow. Also, too much nitpicking just keeps you maps blank instead of more precise. I am an asperger myself, but I try to see my weaknesses as weaknesses rather than rationalize them as superpowers.
I guess, ultimately different people expect different things from the meetups; it might be good to communicate this explicitly. But you need some minimum size of the meetup to find people who share your current goals.