When I translated to English, their 3 “Os” (In dutch not English) were....
“Bulky, underexposed and solvable”
Sounds a lot like important, neglected and tractable to me?
And then they interviewed Rob Mathers from the Against Malaria Foundation...
I completely agree with James that these guys are showing EA a different way of movement building which might end up being effective (we’ll see). It seems like they are building on the moral philosophy foundations of EA, then packaging it in a way that will be attractive to the wider population—and they’ve done it well. I love this page with their “7 principles” and found it inspiring—I would sign up to those principles, and I appreciated that the scout mindset is in there as well.
I do wonder what his major criticisms of EA are though, given that this looks pretty much like EA packaged for the masses, unless I’m missing something.
Yup! The three OOOs are inspired by EA (although a different Dutch foundation should get the credit for the Dutch acronym).[1]
The main criticism can be found in chapter 8 of the book (only in Dutch for now). The subheading for this chapter gives a clue: “What you can achieve by radical prioritization, and how your moral ambition can be completely derailed.” Spoiler: it’s SBF.
The introduction to that chapter closes with the following paragraphs (machine translation):
”I cannot emphasize enough how important this third point is. Rob [Mather] was equally talented through all three phases, but it wasn’t until he took a step back and carefully weighed his options that he started to make a huge difference. So don’t start with the question: ‘What is my passion?’ but with the question ‘How can I contribute the most?’ – and then choose the role that suits you.
Remember: your talent is just a tool, and your ambition is raw energy. The question is what you do with it.
And that also applies to something else. So far I have mainly talked about the waste of talent and ambition. But there is another privilege that we waste on a massive scale: money. In this chapter I will take a step back in time and tell you about my introduction to a young cult that became aware of that. It’s a movement that has taken the pursuit of impact to the extreme. A movement that is always looking for the best financial investments with the highest return for as many people and animals as possible.
Their story is about how much you can achieve through radical prioritization, but it also shows how your moral ambition can be completely derailed.”
His conclusion to the chapter is much more positive about EA, but it’s far from a ringing endorsement.
I think this is a very interesting case study from the SBF saga. Yes, public polling suggests it didn’t damage the reputation of EA as much as some might have feared. However, it has resulted in a loss of support from potential allies, e.g., Bregman. This is a real shame.
The sad fact is that this book might be the main way people in the Netherlands learn about the link between SBF and EA. But I guess there is little we can do about it now.
Yes, although I guess it’s good that people know the link. We shouldn’t hide our mistakes, and I know Bregman likes some of what we do, so there are worse people to have sharing this info with the Dutch population.
Yes, I totally agree it is important not to hide our mistakes. I just wish SBF was presented in the context I see it in: As an unbelievable fuck-up / distaster / crime in a community that is at least trying very hard to do good.
When I translated to English, their 3 “Os” (In dutch not English) were....
“Bulky, underexposed and solvable”
Sounds a lot like important, neglected and tractable to me?
And then they interviewed Rob Mathers from the Against Malaria Foundation...
I completely agree with James that these guys are showing EA a different way of movement building which might end up being effective (we’ll see). It seems like they are building on the moral philosophy foundations of EA, then packaging it in a way that will be attractive to the wider population—and they’ve done it well. I love this page with their “7 principles” and found it inspiring—I would sign up to those principles, and I appreciated that the scout mindset is in there as well.
https://www.moreleambitie.nl/grondbeginselen
I do wonder what his major criticisms of EA are though, given that this looks pretty much like EA packaged for the masses, unless I’m missing something.
Yup! The three OOOs are inspired by EA (although a different Dutch foundation should get the credit for the Dutch acronym).[1]
The main criticism can be found in chapter 8 of the book (only in Dutch for now). The subheading for this chapter gives a clue: “What you can achieve by radical prioritization, and how your moral ambition can be completely derailed.” Spoiler: it’s SBF.
The introduction to that chapter closes with the following paragraphs (machine translation):
”I cannot emphasize enough how important this third point is. Rob [Mather] was equally talented through all three phases, but it wasn’t until he took a step back and carefully weighed his options that he started to make a huge difference. So don’t start with the question: ‘What is my passion?’ but with the question ‘How can I contribute the most?’ – and then choose the role that suits you.
Remember: your talent is just a tool, and your ambition is raw energy. The question is what you do with it.
And that also applies to something else. So far I have mainly talked about the waste of talent and ambition. But there is another privilege that we waste on a massive scale: money. In this chapter I will take a step back in time and tell you about my introduction to a young cult that became aware of that. It’s a movement that has taken the pursuit of impact to the extreme. A movement that is always looking for the best financial investments with the highest return for as many people and animals as possible.
Their story is about how much you can achieve through radical prioritization, but it also shows how your moral ambition can be completely derailed.”
His conclusion to the chapter is much more positive about EA, but it’s far from a ringing endorsement.
I think this is a very interesting case study from the SBF saga. Yes, public polling suggests it didn’t damage the reputation of EA as much as some might have feared. However, it has resulted in a loss of support from potential allies, e.g., Bregman. This is a real shame.
I really enjoy imagining they’re talking about objected-orientated ontology.
The sad fact is that this book might be the main way people in the Netherlands learn about the link between SBF and EA. But I guess there is little we can do about it now.
Yes, although I guess it’s good that people know the link. We shouldn’t hide our mistakes, and I know Bregman likes some of what we do, so there are worse people to have sharing this info with the Dutch population.
Yes, I totally agree it is important not to hide our mistakes. I just wish SBF was presented in the context I see it in: As an unbelievable fuck-up / distaster / crime in a community that is at least trying very hard to do good.