Bay Area LessWrong meetup survey: results
Results of an organizing survey sent to the Bay Area LessWrong mailing list — the local in-person community attached to the rationalist blog LessWrong — with 72 responses, intended to help the volunteers running events match what attendees actually wanted.
First, thanks to everyone who filled out the survey. We had a total of 72 responses, there were a lot of great comments, and I’m sure this will help in planning better events. Statistics below are in the form (option) — (absolute number) — (percentage).
Where do you live?
City of San Francisco — 12 — 17% Berkeley — 22 — 31% Oakland — 3 — 4% South Bay (Redwood City to Mountain View) — 23 — 32% Other — 12 — 17% Right now, how often do you attend Less Wrong community events?
Never — 5 — 7% Rarely — 25 — 35% About once a month — 21 — 29% About every other week — 14 — 19% About every week — 7 — 10% More than once a week — 0 — 0% How often would you attend Less Wrong community events, if you got to design the kind of events that you most wanted?
Never — 0 — 0% Rarely — 5 — 7% About once a month — 9 — 13% About every other week — 18 — 25% About every week — 26 — 36% More than once a week — 12 — 17% About how large would your ideal meetup be?
2–5 people — 1 — 1% 5–15 people — 37 — 51% 15–40 people — 27 — 38% 40–150 people — 1 — 1% More than 150 people — 1 — 1% Other — 4 — 6% What kind of space do you prefer?
Indoor private space (house, apartment) — 24 — 33% Indoor semi-public space (office, classroom) — 18 — 25% Indoor public space (restaurant, bar, cafe) — 4 — 6% Outdoors — 2 — 3% It doesn’t matter much — 20 — 28% Other — 4 — 6% Which discussion format do you like the best?
(some chose more than one) Presentation (one person speaks) — 34 — 47% Conference (a few people speak, arranged in advance) — 38 — 53% Unconference (some people speak, arranged on the spot) — 28 — 39% Organized, moderated discussion — 39 — 54% Free-form discussion — 41 — 57% Party, with food, music, etc. — 38 — 53% Other — 8 — 11% Which meetup activities do you like best?
(some chose more than one) Discussion (any of the above types) — 61 — 85% Board / card games — 38 — 53% Group exercises — 31 — 43% Cuddles / touch — 24 — 33% Walking / hiking / other exercise — 36 — 50% Dancing — 14 — 19% Work (hackathons, planning sessions, etc.) — 44 — 61% Helping other group members (eg. ‘rationalist therapy’) — 38 — 53% Watching videos/movies — 16 — 22% Other — 10 — 14% Which topics are you most interested in?
(some chose more than one) Human rationality and cognition (CFAR-sphere) — 63 — 88% Mathematics of AI (MIRI-sphere) — 32 — 44% Preventing existential risk (FHI/CSER-sphere) — 36 — 50% Effective altruism (GiveWell/CEA-sphere) — 32 — 44% Near-term technologies (machine learning, 3D printing, Bitcoin, etc.) — 39 — 54% Anti-aging and other advanced bio — 36 — 50% Startups and making money — 39 — 54% No topic, just hanging out — 30 — 42% Other — 5 — 7% Have you read Nick Bostrom’s book Superintelligence?
Yes — 23 — 32% Part of it — 11 — 15% No, but I have a copy and will soon — 9 — 13% No — 28 — 39% How much of the Less Wrong Sequences have you read?
All, or close to all — 31 — 43% Some, but more than half — 14 — 19% Some, but less than half — 16 — 22% A few posts — 8 — 11% None — 2 — 3% Does it matter if the meetup is near a BART/Caltrain stop?
It doesn’t matter — 25 — 35% I might attend a bit more often — 13 — 18% I’d definitely come more often — 25 — 35% I wouldn’t go otherwise — 5 — 7% Other — 2 — 3% How long would you travel, each way, to attend a meetup on most weeks?
I’d never come that often — 2 — 3% Less than 20 minutes — 22 — 31% 20–40 minutes — 37 — 51% 40–60 minutes — 8 — 11% Over an hour — 0 — 0% Other — 2 — 3% Of meetups you’d like to attend, how many do you skip because of schedule conflicts?
None, or almost none — 21 — 29% Less than 25% — 21 — 29% 25–50% — 15 — 21% 50–75% — 6 — 8% More than 75% — 2 — 3% Almost all — 3 — 4% How much time would you like to spend organizing meetups?
None — 7 — 10% Only on rare occasions — 39 — 54% Less than 30 minutes per week — 13 — 18% 30 minutes – 1 hour per week — 6 — 8% 1–2 hours per week — 4 — 6% 2–5 hours per week — 1 — 1% How often would you want to host a meetup in the house/apartment you live in?
Never — 15 — 21% Very rarely — 14 — 19% Less than once a month — 17 — 24% Once a month to once a week — 11 — 15% More than once a week — 1 — 1% I’d like to, but my space really wouldn’t work (eg. dorm room) — 9 — 13% I’d like to, but my roommates/family/landlord wouldn’t let me — 1 — 1% Other — 3 — 4%