Scott Alexander gentrified my meetup

A routine rationality meetup in Zagreb, Croatia, expected to draw between 3 and 10 locals for beers, was radically transformed into a major international gathering. The catalyst was author and blogger Scott Alexander (of Astral Codex Ten and formerly Slate Star Codex), whose travel schedule was coordinated with the event by Skyler of Rationality Meetups. What began as a concern over reserving a single table escalated quickly as "Going" RSVPs poured in from across Europe, including the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Estonia, Slovakia, and Slovenia. The organizer, writing under the pseudonym Dominicq, was forced to panic-scramble for a new venue, ultimately securing a large event space at their workplace to avoid a "massive fail" at the original location.

The event, held on April 10, 2026, ultimately hosted an estimated 54 attendees. The focus shifted from casual socializing to a structured discussion on AI safety, with Scott Alexander fielding questions from the audience in a Q&A session. The organizer noted the chaotic but successful nature of the last-minute logistics, thanking helpers for cleanup and highlighting the community's ability to rapidly mobilize around a central figure in the rationalist and AI safety spheres. The post serves as a vivid case study in how online intellectual communities can manifest physically and scale unpredictably when a key influencer is involved, also promoting the newly formed LessWrong Croatia group for future local meetups.