I love that you wrote this because I grappled with a slightly bigger version of this, which was ‘move to the Bay,’ and I wasn’t able to get a detailed theory of change from the people who were recommending this to me.
I think point 4 is especially interesting and something that motivated my decision to move (essentially, ‘experience Berkely EA culture’). Ironically, most people focused on the first three points (network effects). I do think I’m unsure whether point 4 (specifically, the shift towards maximization, which feels related to totalising EA) is a net positive. Though perhaps by “theory of change” you really just meant the effect of coming to Berkeley, and not claiming that coming to Berkeley is net positive for one’s impact?
I love that you wrote this because I grappled with a slightly bigger version of this, which was ‘move to the Bay,’ and I wasn’t able to get a detailed theory of change from the people who were recommending this to me.
I think point 4 is especially interesting and something that motivated my decision to move (essentially, ‘experience Berkely EA culture’). Ironically, most people focused on the first three points (network effects). I do think I’m unsure whether point 4 (specifically, the shift towards maximization, which feels related to totalising EA) is a net positive. Though perhaps by “theory of change” you really just meant the effect of coming to Berkeley, and not claiming that coming to Berkeley is net positive for one’s impact?