How much of your work is on-demand (i.e. someone gives you a grant or asks you to investigate some area)[1] vs. projects that you decide to focus on for some other reason? If you prefer one approach or the other, why is that?
In general, as Kei asks, I’m really curious to hear more about how you decide what to research, and also how you find donors and funders.
How much of your work is on-demand (i.e. someone gives you a grant or asks you to investigate some area)[1] vs. projects that you decide to focus on for some other reason? If you prefer one approach or the other, why is that?
In general, as Kei asks, I’m really curious to hear more about how you decide what to research, and also how you find donors and funders.
For instance, I get the sense that Rethink Priorities gets commissions (e.g.).
I think I’m also curious about how you notice that something is a common misconception, or if that’s something that you focus on at all. E.g. I think part of the success of this article, “The world is awful. The world is much better. The world can be much better.,” is that it hits at a common blindspot/belief (that life for humans today is worse than it was in the past) and then shows evidence against it (same with “Global economic inequality: what matters most for your living conditions is not who you are, but where you are”). (Edited to add: I think a lot of your work on climate also follows this pattern.)