Thank you for this post! I’m a loud-and-proud advocate of the “big tent”. It’s partly selfish, because I don’t have the markers that would make me EA Elite (like multiple Oxbridge degrees or a gazillion dollars).
What I do have is a persistent desire to steadily hack away at the tremendous amount of suffering in the world, and a solid set of interpersonal skills. So I show up and I make my donations and I do my level best to encourage/uplift/motivate the other folks who might feel the way that I do. If the tent weren’t big, I wouldn’t be here, and I think that would be a loss.
Your new GWWC member’s EAGx experience is exactly what I’m out here trying to prevent. Here is someone who was interested/engaged enough to go to a conference, and—we’ve lost them. What a waste! Just a little more care could have helped that person come away willing to continue to engage with EA—or at least not have a negative view of it.
There are lots of folks out there who are working hard on “narrow tower” EA. Hooray for them—they are driving the forward motion of the movement and achieving amazing things. But in my view, we also need the “big tent” folks to make sure the movement stays accessible.
After all, “How can I do the most good, with the resources available to me?” is a question more—certainly not fewer! - people should be encouraged to ask.
Thank you for this post! I’m a loud-and-proud advocate of the “big tent”. It’s partly selfish, because I don’t have the markers that would make me EA Elite (like multiple Oxbridge degrees or a gazillion dollars).
What I do have is a persistent desire to steadily hack away at the tremendous amount of suffering in the world, and a solid set of interpersonal skills. So I show up and I make my donations and I do my level best to encourage/uplift/motivate the other folks who might feel the way that I do. If the tent weren’t big, I wouldn’t be here, and I think that would be a loss.
Your new GWWC member’s EAGx experience is exactly what I’m out here trying to prevent. Here is someone who was interested/engaged enough to go to a conference, and—we’ve lost them. What a waste! Just a little more care could have helped that person come away willing to continue to engage with EA—or at least not have a negative view of it.
There are lots of folks out there who are working hard on “narrow tower” EA. Hooray for them—they are driving the forward motion of the movement and achieving amazing things. But in my view, we also need the “big tent” folks to make sure the movement stays accessible.
After all, “How can I do the most good, with the resources available to me?” is a question more—certainly not fewer! - people should be encouraged to ask.