Scout Mindset was engaging, easy to read, and had interesting stories and examples
Galef covered a lot of important points in a clear way
She provided good, concrete advice on how to put things into practice
So I’m very likely to recommend this book to people who aren’t in the EA community, are relatively new to it, or aren’t super engaged with it
I also liked how she mentioned effective altruism itself several times and highlighted its genuinely good features in an accurate way, but without making this the central focus or seeming preachy
(At least, I’m guessing people wouldn’t find it preachy—it’s hard to say given that I’m already a convert...)
Conversely, I think I was already aware of and had internalised almost all the basic ideas and actions suggested in the book, and mostly act on these things
So I’ve put this 45th on my rough list of the 53 books I’ve read since learning about EA, in descending order of their perceived usefulness to me specifically
And I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this to long-time, highly engaged members of the EA community
Though some may still find it useful, and many may still find it enjoyable
My Anki cards based on the book
Galef argues that the way many people see death is an example of a ___ ___.
Sweet lemon
[Opposite of sour grapes.]
Galef says impressions of how confident, capable, etc. a person is has more to do with the person’s apparent ___ confidence than with the person’s apparent ___ confidence
Social Epistemic
What’s a concrete way to adopt scout mindset when talking to a friend about an argument/disagreement you had with someone else?
But since not much in this book was new to me, I didn’t make many Anki cards or have many key takeaways, and am thus doing a shortform rather than a top-level post
Notes on Galef’s “Scout Mindset” (2021)
Overall thoughts
Scout Mindset was engaging, easy to read, and had interesting stories and examples
Galef covered a lot of important points in a clear way
She provided good, concrete advice on how to put things into practice
So I’m very likely to recommend this book to people who aren’t in the EA community, are relatively new to it, or aren’t super engaged with it
I also liked how she mentioned effective altruism itself several times and highlighted its genuinely good features in an accurate way, but without making this the central focus or seeming preachy
(At least, I’m guessing people wouldn’t find it preachy—it’s hard to say given that I’m already a convert...)
Conversely, I think I was already aware of and had internalised almost all the basic ideas and actions suggested in the book, and mostly act on these things
This is mostly due to the various things I’ve read or listened to since learning about EA
So I’ve put this 45th on my rough list of the 53 books I’ve read since learning about EA, in descending order of their perceived usefulness to me specifically
And I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this to long-time, highly engaged members of the EA community
Though some may still find it useful, and many may still find it enjoyable
My Anki cards based on the book
Galef argues that the way many people see death is an example of a ___ ___.
Galef says impressions of how confident, capable, etc. a person is has more to do with the person’s apparent ___ confidence than with the person’s apparent ___ confidence
What’s a concrete way to adopt scout mindset when talking to a friend about an argument/disagreement you had with someone else?
See also
Galef discussing ideas from the book on the Clearer Thinking podcast
Rationality: From AI to Zombies (also the podcast version)
Misc notes
My reasoning for making posts like this is explained in Suggestion: Make Anki cards, share them as posts, and share key updates
But since not much in this book was new to me, I didn’t make many Anki cards or have many key takeaways, and am thus doing a shortform rather than a top-level post