On the one hand, I think there’s a lot of wisdom in it. The idea that people should be either all-in on EA or out isn’t helpful, and isn’t effective either. If you think about other social movements that have made a difference (for good and/or ill) on the world, they generally offer opportunities at a number of different commitment and ability points. Take most religions for example—they do not encourage everyone to become a member of the clergy, to pursue advanced theological studies, and so on.
On the other hand, the reference to a “hobby” and some of the specific suggestions trend a little more toward EA-as-spectator-sport than I’d like. I certainly approve of your bouldering hobby, but it sounds like you (and maybe your friend group) are internalizing most of the benefits thereof. I think we can (and should) aim a little higher than that with EA, even EA for the masses.
To use a loose religion metaphor, we might have something vaguely like:
For the relatively few—do a EA job / make EA your main professional focus
For a larger minority—make EA a significant part of your life, take the GWWC pledge, be active on the Forum, go to conferences if that adds value
For the majority—donate 1%, consume at least a few hours of content a year, fast on one day a year and give the money you would have spent on food to the global poor
Yeah I think I agree with you, and I think considering those three levels to be appropriate is consistent with the statement ‘I think most people should think of EA as little more than a hobby’.
I feel like pushing the ‘treat it like a hobby’ thing is good at the mo because I see a lot of people in the EA community feeling they ought to do more, and then they feel bad when it doesn’t work out, and that sucks. I worry they begin to tie their self-worth to whether they are a ‘good EA’ or not. I want to be like, hey, take it easy, you’re doing a good job—y’know?[1]
I’m reminded of when I spoke to a therapist at my uni because I was struggling with anxiety and perfectionism. I wanted to get the best grades and do great things, but in pursuing that goal so relentlessly it was a) undermining my ability to study well and b) making me unhappy. He reminded me that being a student was only a small part of my life. I was also a friend, a partner, a citizen, a son, etc., and these parts of my life were all equally valuable (if not more so).
I might take a different approach if I was talking with a member of the general population. Rutger Bregman’s School of Moral Ambition does that. He’s very much, ‘Yo, you’ve got all this potential, you should be more morally ambitious’. But then again, maybe I wouldn’t because the most thorough definition of EA I know of is non-normative, and I’m glad this is the case.
I have mixed feelings about this answer.
On the one hand, I think there’s a lot of wisdom in it. The idea that people should be either all-in on EA or out isn’t helpful, and isn’t effective either. If you think about other social movements that have made a difference (for good and/or ill) on the world, they generally offer opportunities at a number of different commitment and ability points. Take most religions for example—they do not encourage everyone to become a member of the clergy, to pursue advanced theological studies, and so on.
On the other hand, the reference to a “hobby” and some of the specific suggestions trend a little more toward EA-as-spectator-sport than I’d like. I certainly approve of your bouldering hobby, but it sounds like you (and maybe your friend group) are internalizing most of the benefits thereof. I think we can (and should) aim a little higher than that with EA, even EA for the masses.
To use a loose religion metaphor, we might have something vaguely like:
For the relatively few—do a EA job / make EA your main professional focus
For a larger minority—make EA a significant part of your life, take the GWWC pledge, be active on the Forum, go to conferences if that adds value
For the majority—donate 1%, consume at least a few hours of content a year, fast on one day a year and give the money you would have spent on food to the global poor
Yeah I think I agree with you, and I think considering those three levels to be appropriate is consistent with the statement ‘I think most people should think of EA as little more than a hobby’.
I feel like pushing the ‘treat it like a hobby’ thing is good at the mo because I see a lot of people in the EA community feeling they ought to do more, and then they feel bad when it doesn’t work out, and that sucks. I worry they begin to tie their self-worth to whether they are a ‘good EA’ or not. I want to be like, hey, take it easy, you’re doing a good job—y’know?[1]
I’m reminded of when I spoke to a therapist at my uni because I was struggling with anxiety and perfectionism. I wanted to get the best grades and do great things, but in pursuing that goal so relentlessly it was a) undermining my ability to study well and b) making me unhappy. He reminded me that being a student was only a small part of my life. I was also a friend, a partner, a citizen, a son, etc., and these parts of my life were all equally valuable (if not more so).
I might take a different approach if I was talking with a member of the general population. Rutger Bregman’s School of Moral Ambition does that. He’s very much, ‘Yo, you’ve got all this potential, you should be more morally ambitious’. But then again, maybe I wouldn’t because the most thorough definition of EA I know of is non-normative, and I’m glad this is the case.
I thought 80k’s episode on altruistic perfectionism was great and we could do with more of it.