I’m not seeing object-level arguments against mental health as an EA cause area. We have made some object-level arguments for, and I’m working on a longer-form description of what QRI plans in this space. Look for more object-level work and meta-level organizing over the coming months.
I’d welcome object-level feedback on our approaches. It didn’t seem like your comments above were feedback-focused, but rather they seemed motivated by a belief that this was not “a good direction for EA energy to go relative to the other major ones.” I can’t rule that out at this point. But I don’t like seeing a community member just dishing out relatively content-free dismissiveness on people at a relatively early stage in trying to build something new. If you don’t see any good interventions here, and don’t think we’ll figure out any good interventions, it seems much better to just let us fail, rather than actively try to pour cold water on us. If we’re on the verge of using lots of community resources on something that you know to be unworkable, please pour the cold water. But if your argument boils down to “this seems like a bad idea, but I can’t give any object-level reasons, but I really want people to know I think this is a bad idea” then I’m not sure what value this interaction can produce.
But, that said, I’d also like to apologize if I’ve come on too strong in this back-and-forth, or if you feel I’ve maligned your motives. I think you seem smart, honest, invested in doing good as you see it, and are obviously willing to speak your mind. I would love to channel this into making our ideas better! In trying to do something new, there’s approximately a 100% chance we’ll make a lot of mistakes. I’d like to enlist your help in figuring out where the mistakes are and better alternatives. Or, if you’d rather preemptively write off mental health as a cause area, that’s your prerogative. But we’re in this tent together, and although all the evidence I have suggests we have significantly different (perhaps downright dissonant) cognitive styles, perhaps we can still find some moral trade.
I’m not seeing object-level arguments against mental health as an EA cause area. We have made some object-level arguments for, and I’m working on a longer-form description of what QRI plans in this space. Look for more object-level work and meta-level organizing over the coming months.
I’d welcome object-level feedback on our approaches. It didn’t seem like your comments above were feedback-focused, but rather they seemed motivated by a belief that this was not “a good direction for EA energy to go relative to the other major ones.” I can’t rule that out at this point. But I don’t like seeing a community member just dishing out relatively content-free dismissiveness on people at a relatively early stage in trying to build something new. If you don’t see any good interventions here, and don’t think we’ll figure out any good interventions, it seems much better to just let us fail, rather than actively try to pour cold water on us. If we’re on the verge of using lots of community resources on something that you know to be unworkable, please pour the cold water. But if your argument boils down to “this seems like a bad idea, but I can’t give any object-level reasons, but I really want people to know I think this is a bad idea” then I’m not sure what value this interaction can produce.
But, that said, I’d also like to apologize if I’ve come on too strong in this back-and-forth, or if you feel I’ve maligned your motives. I think you seem smart, honest, invested in doing good as you see it, and are obviously willing to speak your mind. I would love to channel this into making our ideas better! In trying to do something new, there’s approximately a 100% chance we’ll make a lot of mistakes. I’d like to enlist your help in figuring out where the mistakes are and better alternatives. Or, if you’d rather preemptively write off mental health as a cause area, that’s your prerogative. But we’re in this tent together, and although all the evidence I have suggests we have significantly different (perhaps downright dissonant) cognitive styles, perhaps we can still find some moral trade.
Best wishes, Mike