Yeah, on a reflection framing of “working on a paper” is not quite right. So let me be more specific,
Prospecting for Gold’s impact comes from promoting a certain established way of thinking [≈ econ 101 and ITN] within the EA community and, unclear, if intended or not, also providing local communities with an excellent discussion topic.
The expected value of cost-effectiveness of research seems to be dominated by chances of stumbling on considerations for the EA researchers, GiveWell, 80K’s career recommendations, etc.
The impact of work on moral uncertainty seems to primarily come from field-building. Doing EA-relevant research within a prestigious branch of philosophy increase odds that more pressing EA questions would be addressed by the next generation of academics.
There are other potentials reasons to do research, say, one might prefer to fully concentrate on mentoring but need to do research for the second-order effects: having prestige for hiring; having scholars’ respect for better mentorship; having fresh meta-cognitive observations to emphasize with mentees for better advising). I am curious about which impact pathways do you prioritize?
I feel the most confused about moral uncertainty because it doesn’t resonate with my taste and my knowledge of the subject and of field politics is very limited. I hope my oversimplification doesn’t diminish/misrepresent your work too much.
Yeah, on a reflection framing of “working on a paper” is not quite right. So let me be more specific,
Prospecting for Gold’s impact comes from promoting a certain established way of thinking [≈ econ 101 and ITN] within the EA community and, unclear, if intended or not, also providing local communities with an excellent discussion topic.
The expected value of cost-effectiveness of research seems to be dominated by chances of stumbling on considerations for the EA researchers, GiveWell, 80K’s career recommendations, etc.
The impact of work on moral uncertainty seems to primarily come from field-building. Doing EA-relevant research within a prestigious branch of philosophy increase odds that more pressing EA questions would be addressed by the next generation of academics.
There are other potentials reasons to do research, say, one might prefer to fully concentrate on mentoring but need to do research for the second-order effects: having prestige for hiring; having scholars’ respect for better mentorship; having fresh meta-cognitive observations to emphasize with mentees for better advising). I am curious about which impact pathways do you prioritize?
I feel the most confused about moral uncertainty because it doesn’t resonate with my taste and my knowledge of the subject and of field politics is very limited. I hope my oversimplification doesn’t diminish/misrepresent your work too much.