About
What is effective altruism?
Effective altruism (EA) is a movement trying to invest time and money in causes that do the most good per some unit of effort. The label applies broadly, including a philosophy, a community, a set of organisations and set of behaviours. Likewise it also sometimes means how to donate effectively to charities, choose one's career, do the most good per $, do good in general or ensure the most good happens. Many effective altruists donate 10% or more of their income to charity annually.
What is rationality?
Rationality is the art and practice of thinking in ways that result in accurate beliefs and good decisions. Rationalists generally tend to enjoy truthseeking, secular humanism, and interesting conversations. The community is mostly online, but there are also meetups in most major cities.
What is a typical Waterline event like?
Typically, Waterline sessions are 2-5 pm Sundays at a private residence in the west end of Toronto. We congregate at a local library branch at 2pm and then walk five minutes to the residence (this is to avoid posting the home address on the internet). Please rest assured that everyone who has attended so far definitely still have all of their kidneys though we are working on this.
The events tend to be very discussion-heavy. Generally, attendees are split into groups of no more than eight people, to keep discussions fun and cozy. Abundant vegan snacks are served at discussion meetups.
Sometimes, to mix things up, events take place at other times, or other locations.
I would like to come to an event, but I am worried that I won't fit in.
If it helps, to a first approximation every new person who shows up does so with worries that they're not smart enough or serious enough about the subject matter to attend.
As long as you think you would enjoy an occasional bout of intellectually serious discussion, these events are designed for you. You don't have to be good at it, or have pre-existing familiarity with the concepts, or be well-read. All that's required from you is that you read the assigned posts beforehand, and show up in good faith.
If you end up not liking the vibes, you are free to leave! Just walk out. We won't even be mad.
Who organizes these things?
Hello! My name is Jenn and I am the primary organizer. I first encountered the rationality and effective altruist movements in the early 2010s, and I have been organizing regular meetups since 2019.
I identify as a rationalist and an effective altruist. One belief I have is that both communities are healthier when they are more tightly interlinked.
I previously ran rationality and EA meetups in Waterloo. If you want to get a sense of my meetups, see the events between 2022 and April 2026 on this page. I've also written a bit on my meetups organizing philosophy on my blog, here.