Search the Community

I am a co-organizer for a philosophy meet-up group in downtown SLC that meets every Sunday, with other meetings on Saturdays and occasionally during the week. We talk abstract philosophy, religion, atheism, politics, and whatever else strikes us. We're mostly a mix of college-age kids and middle-aged guys, with a sprinkling of everyone else with a variety of philosophical and political positions, regularly argued in a civilized, respectful manner. We're open to the public and up for any subject of discussion, all in a casual environment with snacks usually provided. If you're at all interested in meeting some philoso-folks, drop a comment or send me a message and let's talk!

Young Philosophers Reason, Honesty, Empathy, Intellectual Integrity. _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ IF INTERESTED IN JOINING, PLEASE READ THE UPDATE I WROTE BELOW THE ORIGINAL POST. Who Are We? A group of FDR listeners who sought genuine connection in an irrational world, ultimately forming an ongoing Skype-based Conversation Young Entrepreneurs, Blacksmiths, Engineers, Welders, Psychologists, Designers, and Philosophers Advocates of Liberty, Anarcho-Capitalism, Peaceful Parenting, Bitcoin and Precious Metals Men and women from ages 17 - 29. What's Our Purpose? We want to foster genuine connections between intelligent and rational beings who share core values. If you use reason and evidence to guide you to truth, if you're honest and empathetic, if you've got the intellectual integrity to discuss ideas without the need of a Yale safe space, we want to meet you! From what I gather, so many of us in the FDR community are isolated, like lone torchlights burning inches above a turbulent sea of irrationality. In the physical realm, the odds are against us when it comes to meeting those worthy of a voluntary relationships. However, through the internet, we truth-seekers are able to connect via video, voice, and text through Skype. What Do We Discuss? Wow. A lot. Uhh... Let's start with: Technology, Current Events, Philosophy, Relationships, Psychology, Peaceful Parenting, Personal Struggles, Self-Improvement, Self-Directed Learning, Entrepreneurship, Business, Industry, etc. etc... There's a lot of fun discussion as well.. SJW's, Political Correctness, Trump, and more! Where Are We? That's a tough one. We're spread across 7 different countries in 3 continents as of now. Most of us are from the U.S. We've got our fair share of Europeans in the mix as well! (So Multicultural!) Wow, Fantastic! How do I Join? I'd like to be able to gauge people's interest on this forum. I plan on linking this to the FDR Facebook group, and would appreciate it if you'd post here if you're interested. For those of you who'd like to remain anonymous for whatever reason, feel free to READ THE UPDATE BELOW, then PM me and I can add you to the conversation. I'm super excited to reach out to you folks today. The value of the connections I've formed is truly amazing to me. I really, honestly hope that we can meet you, the intelligent and motivated reader, and get to know you soon.

If you read the post, like the idea, live near Richmond VA, but don't have a forum account, feel free to reach out to me via Facebook! I'd like to hear your feedback and ideas. Hello, folks! I'm greatly interested in starting a Freedomain Radio / Philosophy meetup group. I've already worked to advertise and manage an online Skype group called the "Young Philosophers" for teens and twenty-somethings of the FDR community to connect with like minded individuals around the world. I've greatly enjoyed the experiences, conversations, and relationships I've fostered and maintained there for almost a year now, but I'd love to expand that into physical reality. If you're a curious, empathetic, and intelligent lover of ideas and seek genuine connection as I do, I want to facilitate that. Today I ask if you live within driving distance of the Richmond tri-cities area, would you like to help me start a Freedomain Radio / Philosophy meetup group? I'm 20 years old, and have a friend who is turning 21 soon who expressed that he'd be interested too if there's support for the idea! I invite men and women of all ages to participate - it'd be an awesome opportunity to connect and network regardless of age differences, offering and reciprocating value for value! Please do let me know if this is of interest to you! I'd be willing to expend the time, planning, and resources necessary to make it a reality. I look forward to your responses, Nick

BECOME A PART OF OUR MASTERMIND! Two entrepreneurs and FDR listeners are SEEKING highly motivated and intelligent individuals to COLLABORATE with on matters of business and personal development. Interested? Keep reading! What is a MasterMind Group? I prefer to answer the question by painting a story: Imagine a man who’s accumulated 5 years of entrepreneurial experience in the field of marketing personal services online and in print with an IQ of 123. He reads roughly 2 books a month and listens to perhaps 15 hours of podcasts in a month pertaining to his line of work, as he is already successful but always strives to improve. He wants to drive more traffic to a personal website marketing his services, but finds the task to be somewhat daunting as he’s not particularly tech-savvy. Enters another woman who’s spent the past 9 months monetizing her blog about personal finance after being inspired by taking an online course on that practice with an IQ of 125. She’s absorbed in her work, and listens to 30 hours of audio and video content pertaining to her field on a monthly basis. She’s successfully optimized her site to the #2 spot on Google and #1 on Yahoo for search terms in her niche. She decides she’s going to use her success story to launch an SEO consulting practice herself, but has little business marketing experience and nobody in her life to seek advice from. Lastly arrives a 20 year business veteran and CEO of a multi-million dollar company selling fertilizer to industrial farmers. He’s got an IQ of 134 and a personal library of literature which proved instrumental to his success sitting on ivory-mahogany shelves which represents but a fraction of his knowledge in business. He’s discovered Freedomain radio and is questioning the root causes for his desires for money in therapy now. He’s thinking of selling the company and shifting his energy into founding a charitable non-profit, and wants to craft the website himself. Each of them share the same core values, and each of them are driven, intelligent, and capable of achieving their individual goals with great time, energy, and difficulty. However, imagine a being with a mind so powerful, that it were the equivalent to an entrepreneurial MasterMind - an expert in every aspect of starting a business, marketing it successfully, hiring the right employees, optimizing its web presence to drive maximum traffic and sales, scaling it, and sustaining it for years; a mind with almost three decades of equivalent experience, with an equivalent IQ of 160 (about that of Einstein) with a genuine desire to help others succeed and ever-increasing knowledge bank. How much easier would it be to solve their individual problems if they could consult such a mind for free every week? How much would one typically have to pay to seek counsel from such a mind? What benefits and victories could come to each of his or her practices with such a powerful ally at their side? ✦✦✦ My friends, a MasterMind is a collaborative infusing of various degrees of intellect and experience, focused on solving problems, overcoming obstacles, and providing feedback on the business practices and goals of individual participants. The diverse group operates in harmony with one another’s chief aims in life, and holds good will towards their friends’ success. Good will is maintained by individual participants adherence to the same core values combined with an enjoyable personality. The sharing of core values in the FDR community is widespread. We value intellectual integrity, emotional honesty, personal freedom, the non-aggression principal, and consistency. By sharing our struggles with trustworthy individuals of high character and intellect, and gaining their insights into our situation, we will ensure our success in our business endeavors. The MasterMind group offers the support needed to thrive, the external feedback needed to overcome unperceived obstacles, the motivation needed to persist in the face of adversity, and the quality friendships needed to live happily. ✦✦✦ I will now go over the practical means by which a MasterMind group operates: Relevant terms and definitions: "Hot Seat" [Recommended Duration of 5-15 minutes]: Individuals who're in the hot seat are expected to either outline the definite plans of action which they wish to receive feedback on, or relay the problems or new ideas regarding their current business which are most pressing currently for them. In order to accelerate the rate of helpful feedback to the hot seat member, he or she should COME PREPARED with SPECIFIC QUESTIONS pertaining to his or he problems. An example of a "hot seat" scenario is as follows: Reflects upon previous week's goal progression and business successes (2 mins) Outlines goals and plans of action in order to achieve them (5 minutes) Relays targeted problems, knowledge deficits, or obstacles in the way and asks specific questions to the Mastermind (7 minutes) "Brainstorming" [Recommended Duration of at least 20-40 minutes]: Brainstorming is not simply asking a particular individual for his or her thoughts. It is a collaborative effort in which the collective genius of the entire group is put to the task of thinking up solutions for the problems and obstacles presented by the member in the hot seat. Examples of helpful activities during the brainstorming session include: Relaying relevant past experience in conquering a similar problem Asking questions surrounding the portions of the business plan which appear faulty Pointing out of any inconsistencies, pitfalls or over-simplifications in planning, and ideas for improved execution Recommendation of free or inexpensive services conducive to business growth Expressing encouragement and positivity or moral support Overview: Sessions are conducted via video call on Skype. The member in the Hot Seat is pre-selected from the prior meeting. The Hot Seat session proceeds unabridged, unless members seek clarification or further explanation. Then, group Brainstorming proceeds, whereby crucial feedback and support is given. The entire process can take from 30 minutes to 60 minutes, or longer if the group is really “flowing” well and doesn’t wish to stop. A weekly schedule will be made according to individual participants’ daily availability, and sessions will last as long as all participants agree to. ✦✦✦ I am partnering with another young entrepreneur, AlecS, in order to facilitate the growth of our MasterMind group from 2 to 5 members. (3 MEMBERS NEEDED). We’re seeking an outside perspective on our own business ventures from intelligent, wise, experienced thinkers. In return, we intend to provide value to peers of our same degree of entrepreneurial experience by offering peer support, encouragement, critique, and questioning. For those of greater experience then ourselves, we will graciously accept your feedback as passionate, curious, and motivated young pupils who’ll act upon knowledge provided. In addition, you will gain insight into your own business from an outside perspective regarding its flaws and unseen opportunities from the younger generations! No matter what your experience level, the MasterMind will serve you well as a tight-knit community of motivated, intelligent individuals who share the same core values. We will hold you accountable to your goals because we want you to succeed just as much as ourselves! ✦✦✦ What sort of qualities are we looking for in people to join? We want to meet people who’re happy! People who’re honest and operate with integrity, not the sort who drive fake traffic to steal ad revenue or pass off snake oil products to sucker the ignorant. People who’re optimistic about their position and view on life, not people who’ll complain and drag others down. People who’re motivated to work to succeed and do good in the world, not aiming for a quick fix to their problems by off-loading responsibility unto others. People who’re passionate about their work or the prospects of starting anew, not those drudging through life to make ends meet. People who’re curious to learn more about themselves and others with their differing views on the world. Read the underlined words again! If you’re reminded of yourself when reading the paragraph above, then please reach out to either myself or Alec. We’ll be posting example replies for applications to enter the group below. You can be creative and dynamic in your responses, but we ask that you incorporate answers to the following questions: Who are you? What are your core values or principals which you abide by? What motivates you in life? What is your entrepreneurial or business experience? What specific skillsets have you obtained in your particular industry? How has FDR impacted your thoughts on entrepreneurship? ✦✦✦ I’m genuinely curious to hear your stories, because I know many of you are fantastically interesting people with marvelous stories to share. I have made so many friends from the heart of this online community, and in many ways you, the reader, are a source of inspiration for me. Please, do not hesitate to reach out via private message; if you prefer you can introduce yourself to us via Skype on a video call. I do hope however, that some will feel encouraged to reflect upon their own strong suits and exhibit the courage to post here as well. I hope to hear from you very soon. May your businesses and happiness prosper alike, Nick

To all swedes out there, listen now! A facebook group called Freedomain Radio - Svenska lyssnare has just been created, meant to serve as a place for swedes/people who speak swedish to gather! So waste no time, go to facebook and request to become a member, and let the community-nizing commence! Ses i gruppen! https://www.facebook.com/groups/1430468680536528/?fref=ts

Hey there In absence of an FDR dating site I've made a Facebook group called Rational Dating 101, which can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/RationalDating101/ I'm hoping this'll turn in to a nice group for rational singles to meet and for rational married/dating people to come and talk about how best to maintain rational relationships Feel free to join and spread the link to people you know who might be interested but who aren't part of these forums.

Listening to FDR2531 set the following train of thought in motion: Not all people are equally good at allocating their resources. Differences in intelligence and experience will cause some people to be better at this than others. People don't survive on their own, people survive in groups. In a group there will be people that are better at allocating resources than others. Since groups will be competing, evolution will favour those groups in which the assets are best allocated. Even if there was some kind of force involved. Creators with little social skills might find that their chances at survival are better in a group that has little respect for self ownership than in a group that perishes because they value self ownership. It might even be that the genome has this build in. Care to shoot any holes in this? PS: I am not defending the existence of a government. I fully subscribe to the NAP. I do see that governments exist, and I wonder what role they play in human evolution, and if we might be predisposed to accept a government.