Thanks for writing this. I want to emphasize a point you make implicitly here, which is that it’s not always clear when ITN is being used as an informal heuristic and when it’s being used for actual or abstract calculation. I think arguments made previously by Rob Wiblin and John Halstead about the conceptual and practical difficulties of this approach make it clear that it is not a suitable method for rigorously ranking causes.
Still, I think it remains a valuable heuristic and a guide for more exhaustive calculations. Though neglectedness may be the wobbliest aspect, it’s a (generally) good approximation of the possibility for additional value when in-depth information on possible marginal returns to a candidate cause area is immediately unavailable.
I also hoped to imply that ITN is more than a heuristic. It also serves a rhetorical purpose.
I worry that its seeming simplicity can belie the complexity of cause prioritization. Calculating an ITN rank or score can be treated as the end, rather than the beginning, of such an effort. The numbers can tug the mind in the direction of arguing with the scores, rather than evaluating the argument used to generate them.
My hope is to encourage people to treat ITN scores just as you say—taking them lightly and setting them aside once they’ve developed a deeper understanding of an issue.
Thanks for writing this. I want to emphasize a point you make implicitly here, which is that it’s not always clear when ITN is being used as an informal heuristic and when it’s being used for actual or abstract calculation. I think arguments made previously by Rob Wiblin and John Halstead about the conceptual and practical difficulties of this approach make it clear that it is not a suitable method for rigorously ranking causes.
Still, I think it remains a valuable heuristic and a guide for more exhaustive calculations. Though neglectedness may be the wobbliest aspect, it’s a (generally) good approximation of the possibility for additional value when in-depth information on possible marginal returns to a candidate cause area is immediately unavailable.
I also hoped to imply that ITN is more than a heuristic. It also serves a rhetorical purpose.
I worry that its seeming simplicity can belie the complexity of cause prioritization. Calculating an ITN rank or score can be treated as the end, rather than the beginning, of such an effort. The numbers can tug the mind in the direction of arguing with the scores, rather than evaluating the argument used to generate them.
My hope is to encourage people to treat ITN scores just as you say—taking them lightly and setting them aside once they’ve developed a deeper understanding of an issue.
Thanks for reading.