Center for Applied Rationality

Center for Applied Rationality
Formation 2012 (2012)
Type Nonprofit research institute
Legal status 501(c)(3) tax exempt charity[1]
Purpose Research and training in cognitive science, and de-biasing
Location
Anna Salamon
Julia Galef
Website rationality.org

The Center for Applied Rationality (CFAR), is an organisation based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Berkeley, California whose focus is to "[take] the results of cognitive science research, and turn them into techniques that people can practice and use in their own lives."[2] It was created in mid-2012, by Julia Galef a statistician, writer, and prominent figure in the skeptic movement,[3][4][5] Anna Salamon, an ex-researcher from NASA and the Machine Intelligence Research Institute, and two Mathematics PhD holders, Michael Smith and Andrew Critch.[6][7][8][9] CFAR develops and tests strategies of cognitive tools and triggers that are known from research in the field of cognitive science on how people form and change their beliefs. The organisation runs workshops to train people to internalize and use strategies based on the principles of rationality on a more regular basis to improve their reasoning and decision making skills and achieve goals.[10][11] According to its co-founder and president Julia Galef the term "Applied" refers to a practical version of rationality in which people not only know how to be rational but also understand when being rational makes a difference.[11] Among the exercises taught in the three-day workshops are Propagating Urges[12] Goal Factoring, Pre-Hindsight,[13] Murphyjitsu and the Inner Simulator.[14][15] Galef recommends carrying a surprise journal as a means to confront confirmation bias.[16]

As of 2015, the three day workshops are billed at $3,900, this includes meals, lodging and follow ups. A limited amount of financial aid is available.[17]

Yudkowsky, curriculum consultant at CFAR, claims it "pursues, what [he] see[s] as an important common project for the human species, namely taking all humanity's wonderful cognitive science research and trying to translate it into teachable skills for thinking better in real life, doing better in our own lives and the world." While assisting in the initial development of CFAR, he claims that he is now largely "superfluous" in the organization's management.[18]

Galef attempts to differentiate CFAR from the self help movement at large, claiming "[s]elf-help is often not based on research, but on generalizations from something that worked for the author or for a smattering of people. Books are riddled with confirmation bias and selection bias."[19] Whereas CFAR's aims are to use a more rigorous and scientific approach to having accurate beliefs and accomplishing your goals.[2]

Galef's activities as a writer, podcaster and president of CFAR are mentioned by the The Atlantic,[20] The Verge,[21] and NPR.[22]

Media and reception

The Center for Applied Rationality has been featured widely in media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal,[15] Main Street,[23] Fast Company,[16][19] Harper's Magazine,[24] Boing Boing,[25] io9,[26] the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies[27] and Nerve Magazine.[28]

In 2014, Julia Galef wrote several articles and recorded several short videos for Big Think, some of which are part of the Big Think Mentor's workshops.[29][30] Subsequent to her exposure with Big Think as an expert on the topic of rationality, she was interviewed in 2014 by Forbes,[31] Fast Company,[16]

Stefan Schubert writes in the The Reasoner that [w]ith a firm grounding in psychological research they have, using a good deal of ingenuity, developed a number of sophisticated practical techniques to overcome different biases."[12] Max Tegmark and Jaan Tallinn have attended workshops have reported wide-reaching benefits to their life from attending CFAR Workshops.[15] Tallinn now provides scholarships for selected Estonian students to attend the workshops.[32]

Anna Salamon presented at the 2014 Effective altruism summit.[33]

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.guidestar.org/organizations/45-3100226/center-applied-rationality.aspx| title=Guidestar| accessdate= 31 March 2015
  2. 1 2 "Vision". Center for Applied Rationality. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  3. ↑ "About Rationally Speaking". About Rationally. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  4. ↑ "Julia Galef's Homepage". Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  5. ↑ "Big Think article on Julia Galef". Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  6. ↑ "About". Center for Applied Rationality. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  7. ↑ "Singularity Summit – Anna Salamon On Shaping the Intelligence Explosion". Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  8. ↑ "Anna Salamon's Homepage". Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  9. ↑ "July 2012 Newsletter". Singularity Institute.
  10. ↑ "Workshops". Center for Applied Rationality. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  11. 1 2 Stiefel, Todd; Metskas, Amanda K. (22 May 2013). "Julia Galef". The Humanist Hour (podcast). Episode 083. The Humanist. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  12. 1 2 Schubert, Stefan (2014). "The Center for Applied Rationality: Practical Techniques for Overcoming Biases" (PDF). The Reasoner. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  13. ↑ Whittlestone, Jess (1 January 2015). "You’ll definitely break your New Year’s resolutions, but it doesn’t matter". Quartz. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  14. ↑ Hickey, Kasey. "How to use the techniques of rationality to soundproof decisions". Asana. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  15. 1 2 3 Chen, Angela (1 January 2014). "More Rational Resolutions". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  16. 1 2 3 Segran, Elizabeth (23 September 2014). "A New Technique for Creating More Aha Moments: The Surprise Journal". Fast Company. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  17. ↑ "Upcoming Applied Rationality Workshops". CFAR. Retrieved 2015-12-23.
  18. ↑ Whelan, David. "Vice:The Harry Potter Fan Fiction Author Who Wants to Make Everyone a Little More Rational". Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  19. 1 2 Segran, Elizabeth (21 October 2014). "Inside The Rationality Movement That Has Silicon Valley Buzzing With Positive Thinking". Fast Company. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  20. ↑ Benfield, Kaid (13 September 2011). "The Legacy of 9/11 for Community and the Built Environment". The Atlantic. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  21. ↑ Popper, Ben (22 October 2012). "Rapture of the nerds: will the Singularity turn us into gods or end the human race?". The Verge. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  22. ↑ Lombrozo, Tania (8 December 2014). "What If Atheists Were Defined By Their Actions?". NPR. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  23. ↑ Kade, Allison (13 January 2014). "The Rationality Behind Our Financial Goals". Main Street. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  24. ↑ Frank, Sam (January 2015). "Come With Us If You Want to Live: Among the apocalyptic libertarians of Silicon Valley". Harper's Magazine. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  25. ↑ Doctorow, Cory (24 August 2014). "Habits for living a more rational life". Boing Boing. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  26. ↑ Dvorsky, George (11 February 2012). "Why you're probably not as rational as you think you are — and what you can do about it". io9. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  27. ↑ Ford, Adam (10 May 2013). "On Instrumental Rationality (Center for Applied Rationality)". IEET. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  28. ↑ Jackson, Carl (8 September 2015). "Why are smart people often so stupid?". Nerve magazine. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  29. ↑ "Make Better Decisions: Redefining "Giving Up"". Big Think. 2014. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  30. ↑ Gots, Jason (2013). "What if Neil deGrasse Tyson Were Your Mentor?". Big Think. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  31. ↑ Kade, Allison (28 January 2014). "6 Times We Betray Our Budgets (And Clever Ways To Stop)". Forbes. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  32. ↑ "Skype founder donates 54,000 euros to Tartu University". The Baltic Times. January 14, 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  33. ↑ "The Effective Altrusim Summit". Retrieved 31 March 2015.

External links

Further reading

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