Quantitatively: suppose $200 is spent on an intro to EA retreat for someone. If that has a more than a one in a five hundred thousand chance of inspiring the attendee to earn to give and successfully donate $100 million over their lifetime, then the expected financial benefit is positive. Given the successes we’ve seen, both from FTX and outside of that, the real probability is orders of magnitude larger. That’s not to say $200 on a retreat is how much should be spent — if you can have the same impact at cheaper cost, you should. And excessive spending can even become counterproductive if it sends the wrong message. But it indicates just how small community-building spending is in comparison the potential benefits from changing people’s careers for the better.
This is a bit of a nit, but $200 is very low here. You’re likely to spend that much per attendee on housing alone, before considering other costs like organizer time or covering transportation.
This is a bit of a nit, but $200 is very low here. You’re likely to spend that much per attendee on housing alone, before considering other costs like organizer time or covering transportation.
I had the same exact reaction! “Only $200 for one attendee? In this economy? What is that, 20 bananas?”
Haha what a crossover!