Wrapping up Manifest 2023
Photos, recordings, wild tales of spicyfest, Manifest 2024
Manifest 2023 was a colossal success and we are so thankful to everyone who participated.
Photos
Communal album - please add your photos too!
Recordings
Recordings of the main talks will be continuously uploaded to our Youtube. We will also be hosting a discussion for each talk on Manifold where you can win bounties and the speakers may interact! The first one is up for Dylan Matthews and Scott Alexander’s fireside chat on Prediction Markets in Journalism!
While we did have an elite cohort of speakers which sparked discussion about heavy topics, there was also a… wild side to the event.
The tale of Shelvacu’s hunt for rationalussy
I’m still a little shocked by how this played out and the comments do a much better job than what I could encapsulate in a few words. So, if you want a spicy tale about how a Manifold user successfully used a market to get head then go read it.
There are other wild stories you can find under the SpicyFest topic. I was too busy working to know all the details but at one point I did see Aella feverishly sprinting after a man across the venue.
Poker tournament
Four satellite events qualified attendees for the final table where Nate Silver, Cate Hall and Zvi Mowshowitz were waiting. Everyone seemed to love it, including Shayne Coplan the CEO of Polymarket, who paid 250,000 mana to buy a seat off of satellite winner Matt Wilson. It was worth it though as his first hand was pocket aces, a foreshadowing of the top 2 finish he would earn, defying expectations as the fish of the table.
I do wonder what someone would make of this photo who didn’t know why everyone in the audience is just staring at their phones (they were live betting on Manifold).
I’m hoping to host a significantly higher stakes charity poker match where we invite pro players and celebrities to play and live stream it with many markets for the audience to interact with. Will it happen? Bet now.
So… Manifest 2024?
Seems likely! The biggest risk Manifest 2024 doesn’t occur is simply if Austin and I decide we don’t want to do it because we have other event ideas we are more excited to try.
Fill out this form to be contacted for the next Manifest.
Lighthaven - Manifest’s lovely venue
When Austin first visited Lighthaven he had no plans of hosting Manifest 2023. However, that was no longer true upon leaving the venue inspired that he could do something there.
The Lighthaven team has provided an unparalleled level of support which we were not expecting, and definitely made running the festival so much smoother. We have loved working with them, every single individual on the team was a positive light to be around.
They have just opened to public bookings and launched their new site where you can sign up to host your own event!
Thanks for reading, I’ve kept it fairly short as we are expecting pieces from Scott Alexander and NYT which will cover other areas. We also plan to publish more thoughtful “reflections as an organiser” and “how to organise your own Manifest-like event” pieces down the line. We will definitely be farming content from all the talks and may have some response pieces to some of what was discussed!
David Chee