Being able to not only inhabit strange and fascinating worlds, but to see them through fresh lens is immensely enjoyable and liberating in the broadest sense of the word.
The issue is that it is hard to see the indirect benefits of reading for enjoyment as an efficient way to do good. And unfortunately, I can sympathize with speed readers and listeners who view a more mercenary treatment of literature as sensible given the time it frees up to otherwise effectuate their values. The time of an EA is a precious resource that can often be leveraged to, in expectation, cause the greatest good throughout space and time when not maximizing for the welfare of said EA agent.
Hello Brad, Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts. To your last point, what if reading did maximize the welfare of an EA agent such that they were better able to effectuate their values? After all, many EAs take time away from directly doing good to lift weights, socialize, go out to dinners, and generally engage in other activities that give them pleasure. It won’t be the same for everyone of course, but when considering the happiness/impact tradeoff I see many EAs devote time to the former in the hopes of maximizing the latter. In my case, reading not only helps my communication skills which I hope to leverage throughout my professional career(s), but it also brings me happiness, and with it increased mental bandwidth.
Also, I really like your verbiage “mercenary treatment of literature” and wish I would have thought of that for the original essay.
If an EA enjoys deep reading more than the suite of other activities he or she could engage in for fun and unwinding, that could be a good reason to spend time deep reading. And perhaps in some cases, deep reading can further critical skills which have benefits from an EA perspective.
It’s just that it’s no longer a broad case for deep reading, but rather a case that it might make sense depending on your tastes/circumstances.
Being able to not only inhabit strange and fascinating worlds, but to see them through fresh lens is immensely enjoyable and liberating in the broadest sense of the word.
The issue is that it is hard to see the indirect benefits of reading for enjoyment as an efficient way to do good. And unfortunately, I can sympathize with speed readers and listeners who view a more mercenary treatment of literature as sensible given the time it frees up to otherwise effectuate their values. The time of an EA is a precious resource that can often be leveraged to, in expectation, cause the greatest good throughout space and time when not maximizing for the welfare of said EA agent.
Hello Brad,
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts. To your last point, what if reading did maximize the welfare of an EA agent such that they were better able to effectuate their values? After all, many EAs take time away from directly doing good to lift weights, socialize, go out to dinners, and generally engage in other activities that give them pleasure. It won’t be the same for everyone of course, but when considering the happiness/impact tradeoff I see many EAs devote time to the former in the hopes of maximizing the latter. In my case, reading not only helps my communication skills which I hope to leverage throughout my professional career(s), but it also brings me happiness, and with it increased mental bandwidth.
Also, I really like your verbiage “mercenary treatment of literature” and wish I would have thought of that for the original essay.
If an EA enjoys deep reading more than the suite of other activities he or she could engage in for fun and unwinding, that could be a good reason to spend time deep reading. And perhaps in some cases, deep reading can further critical skills which have benefits from an EA perspective.
It’s just that it’s no longer a broad case for deep reading, but rather a case that it might make sense depending on your tastes/circumstances.