Sunday morning. Armed with hiking boots and epistemic curiosity a car full of aspiring Freiburger rationalists leaves the train station in Freiburg towards Bad Herrenalb.

Marcus, one of the founders of the Karlsruhe group had organized a beautiful hike that was challenging and beginner friendly at the same time.

The group size was such that it was possible to frequently change conversation partners and our walking speed were well matched as well as ideal for conversing during the hike.

The inspiring topics we touched upon ranged from AI (artificial intelligence) safety, meaningful and meaningless questions after the death of a loved one, ethical implications of Covid triage in hospitals, what “beliefs” are all the way to to model aeroplanes and how to measure energy efficience and heat dissipation in your home.

During the break at the Teufelsmühle, Marcus unpacked a camping cooker, a manual coffee grinder as well as a few other accessories and real espresso cups! While we enjoyed the excellent coffee we, of course, discussed our confidence in actually being able to taste the difference vs. pretentious BS.

After the hike was over, the evening tapered off with a piece of cake and a round of coffee in one of the cafés in Bad Herrenalb. Is it good to give the waiter the (polite) feedback that their coffee is really bad? What are the consequences of doing so or not doing so? Even the simplest of questions must be explored!

Next time, Freiburg!

All pictures copyright of Hauke R. used with permission and published with consent of the people depicted.