I find it very worrying that I discovered this post on negative karma. The concerns of the commenters seem to approximate to
Presentation is bad
Canadian focus is too specific to justify EA action
On 1: ok. That doesn’t seem like it should be a major blocker to people who take the subject seriously.
On 2: I agree one case study shouldn’t change our behaviour, but since when are case studies not useful? Ok, the title overgeneralises from a single case study, but if we had examples like this from multiple developed or high population country we would be some way to understanding the incredibly complex issue rather than dismissing it on the ground of a single person’s assessment (for the record I’m a big fan of Halstead’s analysis—I just think it’s exceptionally dangerous to treat it as the last word on the subject). But we’re unlikely to get such engagement if our response as a community is to shun and even downvote work that’s been as carefully researched as this.
I find it very worrying that I discovered this post on negative karma. The concerns of the commenters seem to approximate to
Presentation is bad
Canadian focus is too specific to justify EA action
On 1: ok. That doesn’t seem like it should be a major blocker to people who take the subject seriously.
On 2: I agree one case study shouldn’t change our behaviour, but since when are case studies not useful? Ok, the title overgeneralises from a single case study, but if we had examples like this from multiple developed or high population country we would be some way to understanding the incredibly complex issue rather than dismissing it on the ground of a single person’s assessment (for the record I’m a big fan of Halstead’s analysis—I just think it’s exceptionally dangerous to treat it as the last word on the subject). But we’re unlikely to get such engagement if our response as a community is to shun and even downvote work that’s been as carefully researched as this.