TEiP HALLOWEEN PARTY • PORTOBELLO | Thought Experiments in Public

A different kind of "party"....

In the UK, Halloween is often associated with tacky excess, frightening bloodstained costumes, and drunken revelry.

I grew up with a different kind of Halloween because I went to an American school. The general vibe was creativity, comedy, and an excuse for a whole community celebration.

We had a costume parade that everyone, even the teachers, participated in. The costumes were mostly home made, tending towards silliness rather than horror. For example, one year a group of students made enormous Pac-Man costumes out of cardboard and used the school corridors to enact a life-sized game of Pac-Man.

It was a fun way to bring everyone together and brighten up rapidly darkening October.

So I'd like to bring a similar creative, friendly spirit to this special episode of TEiP.

As ever, the aim of the evening will be to have open-minded, thought-provoking conversations with fellow humans, so we'll use the tried and tested TEiP format for the majority of the night (see below for details).

The theme will be "DARKNESS", which we will explore by way of three original thought experiments (tiny stories that spark big questions) posted in the comments on the day of the event.

There may be a few twists, and there will definitely be some (optional) games and Halloween-y activities afterwards.

Dressing up is encouraged, though entirely optional.
We will have a friendly costume competition with points awarded for:

• originality
• homemade components
• comedy

So think less generic blood-drenched plastic and more repurposed packaging.
(I will share some inspo in a Substack post in the next week or two)

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NB: It is likely that TEiP will move off Meetup at some point in the future. Please join the mailing list if you'd like to stay in the loop (comms will be minimal and you can unsubscribe at anytime): MAILING LIST

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How we'll do it (timings approximate):

• 6:30 - Arrive at the pub, find us in the dining room
• Organise ourselves into small groups (3-5ish people per group)
• Have a look at the thought experiments (posted in the comments on the day of the event)
• 6:45 - First rotation begins - Talk about the first thought experiment. Feel free to veer off topic and pursue tangents.
• 7:10 - Optional shuffle: swap groups, move on to the second thought experiment.
• 7:35 - Optional shuffle: swap groups, move on to the third thought experiment.
• 8:00 - Votes - optional moment to express your views on some of the questions of the evening.
• 8:05 - Closing remarks.
• PARTY - we will have a few games and activities relevant to a fun and lighthearted Halloween. Everything is optional, you are very welcome to just continue your conversations. (Many of us stay until the pub closes!)

Notes on the general atmosphere:

• The vibe is to let conversation flow rather than stick strictly to one topic.
• While we'd like to talk about 'meaningful things', we also see the value in lighter topics, so don't worry about not being 'deep' enough!
• Feel free to suggest ideas for future episodes of Thought Experiments in Public*, both in terms of structure and topics to discuss.

*formerly just pubs, now meeting in lots of places

Where we'll meet:
This group will be at the Earl of Lonsdale Pub on Portobello. The nearest Tube station is Notting Hill Gate. We will have the large private dining room to ourselves :-)

Who should come:
Everyone! We believe that the more perspectives, the richer the conversation. This group is not about being experts in Philosophy, it is about doing philosophy. That is, bringing our various life experiences and lenses on the world to group discussions about the human experience, the nature of reality... etc. etc....

You can get a sense of what the events and community are like here.

Looking forward to meeting & talking with you soon!

Bonny

Relevant links:
SUBSTACK - read more about this community and other related stuff
MAILING LIST - stay in the loop
INSTAGRAM - see what our events look like
WHATSAPP GROUP - very occasional announcements

#everyonewelcome #newideas #newpeople #inclusivity #openmindedness #greatconversations #Halloween