Rationality-Related Writing/Videos by Current and Former CFAR Staff

Books

The Scout Mindset by Julia Galef

The Scout Mindset

In The Scout Mindset, CFAR co-founder Julia Galef describes why and how to embrace a scout mindset, a stance of curiosity and openness to evidence, in contrast to soldier mindset, a combative approach that resists evidence. It covers topics such as how to notice bias, how to change your mind, and how to inspire others without deception.

Blog Posts by Anna Salamon

Videos by Michael Smith

Newsletter

We used to have a newsletter, but stopped maintaining it. Here are the old editions.

Dec 29, 2020 - Elizabeth Garrett

CFAR Newsletter (December 2020)

Hello, We continue to exist! Although we’ve definitely been really quiet. Here’s what we’ve been up to. The year started well with a mainline CFAR workshop and an AIRCS workshop. Then, at the beginning of March, we cancelled any plans for in-person workshops for the rest of the year, including one that was set to start in a week. This was primarily motivated by the desire to make sure people...

Dec 20, 2019 - Timothy Telleen-Lawton

CFAR Newsletter (December 2019)

Hello from CFAR! Here’s a look at what we did during the past few months and what we’re planning for the next few. We’re also in the middle of our year-end fundraiser, including an AMA we’re holding right now on LessWrong until 10am tomorrow; check out our fundraiser page to see a broader look at the last two years and the next one, or to donate! What We Did Mainline...

Dec 18, 2019 - Timothy Telleen-Lawton

Financial Overview: 2018-2020

Note: This document is intended as an informal, easily-readable overview of CFAR’s income and expenses in 2018 and 2019, and of our financial projections for 2020. You can view our 2019 Independent Auditor’s Report here, and our most recent 990 here. 2018 Income In 2018, CFAR1 received approximately $2.2 million in revenue. Half this sum came in the form of general support from BERI (the Berkeley Existential Risk Initiative), $800k...

Aug 30, 2019 - Timothy Telleen-Lawton

CFAR Newsletter (August 2019)

Hello from CFAR! Read on to learn about our busy summer, as well as what we’ve got planned for the fall. What We Did Instructor Training We’ve completed the first phase of our 2019 Instructor Training Program! We’re now moving on to the second (and final) phase with 20 instructor candidates. Staff will be working with these candidates as they continue various “quests”—mastering and improving core parts of CFAR’s curriculum,...

May 30, 2019 - Timothy Telleen-Lawton

CFAR Newsletter (May 2019)

Hello from CFAR! It’s springtime in Berkeley and we’re gearing up for a busy summer. Here’s a look at what we did during the past few months and what we’re planning for the next few. What We Did Alumni Double Crux Workshop In January, a few staff members joined Eli Tyre in Bodega Bay as he led an experimental alumni workshop on the Double Crux technique. We invited a dozen...

Jan 22, 2019 - Timothy Telleen-Lawton

CFAR Newsletter (January 2019)

Happy New Year! With 2019 under way, we’d like to share some updates from the past few months and plans for the coming year. Updates Harm in the Community Last year, allegations of serious harm were brought against an alumnus and community member. Since then, CFAR has been focused on understanding what happened, what mistakes we made in this case, and how we can reduce the risks of a range...