It is remarkable to me that the portrayal of EA in this book seemed more positive vibes than in a lot of popular articles about the actual charity stuff.
I do think the portrayal of EAs could be worse, but it’s pretty bad? EAs are accused of being hypocritical (e.g., way more concerned with money than they would care to admit), culty, overly trusting, overconfident, and generally uncool.
I’d say there are two main aspects that impact negatively on EA portrayal. One I’ve mentioned below—Lewis goes out of his way to establish that the inner circle were ‘the EAs’, and implicitly seems to be making the point that Sam’s mentality is a perfect match to EA mentality. But much more damning is how he depicts The Schism in early Alameda. Even though he is practically siding with Sam in the dispute, from what he describes it beggars belief how the EA community -and more so its top figures- didn’t react in a stronger way after hearing what the Alameda quitters were saying. The pattern of the early Alameda mess very eerily prefigured what would happen, and Sam’s shadiness.
It is remarkable to me that the portrayal of EA in this book seemed more positive vibes than in a lot of popular articles about the actual charity stuff.
I do think the portrayal of EAs could be worse, but it’s pretty bad? EAs are accused of being hypocritical (e.g., way more concerned with money than they would care to admit), culty, overly trusting, overconfident, and generally uncool.
I’d say there are two main aspects that impact negatively on EA portrayal. One I’ve mentioned below—Lewis goes out of his way to establish that the inner circle were ‘the EAs’, and implicitly seems to be making the point that Sam’s mentality is a perfect match to EA mentality. But much more damning is how he depicts The Schism in early Alameda. Even though he is practically siding with Sam in the dispute, from what he describes it beggars belief how the EA community -and more so its top figures- didn’t react in a stronger way after hearing what the Alameda quitters were saying. The pattern of the early Alameda mess very eerily prefigured what would happen, and Sam’s shadiness.