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.
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.