Thanks for writing this—its difficult/intimidating to write and post things of this nature on here, and its also really important and valuable. So thanks for sharing your experience.
Please don’t read this response as being critical/dismissive of your experiences—I have no doubt that these dynamics do exist, and that these types of interaction do happen (too frequently), in EA spaces. It makes me unhappy to know that well-intentioned people who want to make a different in the world are turned off by interacting with some people in the EA community, or attending some EA events.
I do want to say though, for fairness sake, that as a member of an ethnic, religious, and geographical minority in the EA community, I feel valued and respected, and that I don’t think the attitudes or opinions of the people you’re reporting in your post are that common in the greater community, and that (the vast majority of the EAs I know) would be upset to hear another EA behave the way you’re reporting they did.
^This preempts what is the overall theme of the ideas I had when reading your post: that we make a mistake of thinking about the EA community, and EA events, as monolithic or homogenous (in some ways—it is obviously homogenous in many ways). These aren’t directed at you, but they’re relevant here.
1. Specifically about EA events:
People attend EA events (especially EAG(x)s for many different reasons. Some people go to expand their network in a specific way/in a specific domain. Others go to further their work or certain objectives and are singularly focused on doing so. Others attend because they value the social and communal spirit of being in a big gathering of altruistically motivated people. However, in my opinion, we should not lose track of the fact that these events exist to improve/enhance attendees positive impact on the world, and to improve the wellbeing of the beings we serve—those suffering in the developing world, animals in factory farms and elsewhere, and the disenfranchised yet to be. We shouldn’t be viewing conferences primarily as places for the EA community to congratulate and celebrate ourselves and have a jolly good time. Given how limited/scarce time is at these events, I do think its reasonable for people to be mindful of the way that they use their time, and be open in communicating when they think an interaction isn’t producing value (to other people, not just the participants of the interaction). But the way that they do that can vary in appropriateness and It’s hard to see a reason that someone does this in a way that insults the other person when a non-insulting alternative could have easily been deployed.
2. Generally about the EA community:
There are people from overlapping communities, sub-groups, and differently-motivated backgrounds in the EA community—yet alone people with differing moral schools of thought, cause-area interest, and needs of the EA community. Not to try and caricature you or try and psychologically analyse you, but the types of complaints in your post point to the types of deficiencies which would be most noticed by someone who would highly value the social and communal nature of the EA community, which many people do. However it’s easy to forget that not everyone cares about the community—many people who are in the EA community care about the community and its network for purely instrumental reasons (in that its only valuable because it helps them achieve their goals). I’m sorry that the community interactions you had were so negative and not what you’d want them to be like. However, there are lots of other places where ‘nice’ people abound that you could be part of at the same time as being part of the EA community. One thing I worry about is EAs trying to use the EA community/ecosystem to fulfil every possible social function/need, because its clearly not set up to do that. Please don’t abandon EA values or goals just because of these interactions—being an EA is about how you live your life and how you behave and treat others.
(again, I really do mean this all in the most understanding and sympathetic way—I hope it comes across, but I apologise if it doesn’t).
Hi James,
Thanks for writing this—its difficult/intimidating to write and post things of this nature on here, and its also really important and valuable. So thanks for sharing your experience.
Please don’t read this response as being critical/dismissive of your experiences—I have no doubt that these dynamics do exist, and that these types of interaction do happen (too frequently), in EA spaces. It makes me unhappy to know that well-intentioned people who want to make a different in the world are turned off by interacting with some people in the EA community, or attending some EA events.
I do want to say though, for fairness sake, that as a member of an ethnic, religious, and geographical minority in the EA community, I feel valued and respected, and that I don’t think the attitudes or opinions of the people you’re reporting in your post are that common in the greater community, and that (the vast majority of the EAs I know) would be upset to hear another EA behave the way you’re reporting they did.
^This preempts what is the overall theme of the ideas I had when reading your post: that we make a mistake of thinking about the EA community, and EA events, as monolithic or homogenous (in some ways—it is obviously homogenous in many ways). These aren’t directed at you, but they’re relevant here.
1. Specifically about EA events:
People attend EA events (especially EAG(x)s for many different reasons. Some people go to expand their network in a specific way/in a specific domain. Others go to further their work or certain objectives and are singularly focused on doing so. Others attend because they value the social and communal spirit of being in a big gathering of altruistically motivated people. However, in my opinion, we should not lose track of the fact that these events exist to improve/enhance attendees positive impact on the world, and to improve the wellbeing of the beings we serve—those suffering in the developing world, animals in factory farms and elsewhere, and the disenfranchised yet to be. We shouldn’t be viewing conferences primarily as places for the EA community to congratulate and celebrate ourselves and have a jolly good time. Given how limited/scarce time is at these events, I do think its reasonable for people to be mindful of the way that they use their time, and be open in communicating when they think an interaction isn’t producing value (to other people, not just the participants of the interaction). But the way that they do that can vary in appropriateness and It’s hard to see a reason that someone does this in a way that insults the other person when a non-insulting alternative could have easily been deployed.
2. Generally about the EA community:
There are people from overlapping communities, sub-groups, and differently-motivated backgrounds in the EA community—yet alone people with differing moral schools of thought, cause-area interest, and needs of the EA community. Not to try and caricature you or try and psychologically analyse you, but the types of complaints in your post point to the types of deficiencies which would be most noticed by someone who would highly value the social and communal nature of the EA community, which many people do. However it’s easy to forget that not everyone cares about the community—many people who are in the EA community care about the community and its network for purely instrumental reasons (in that its only valuable because it helps them achieve their goals). I’m sorry that the community interactions you had were so negative and not what you’d want them to be like. However, there are lots of other places where ‘nice’ people abound that you could be part of at the same time as being part of the EA community. One thing I worry about is EAs trying to use the EA community/ecosystem to fulfil every possible social function/need, because its clearly not set up to do that. Please don’t abandon EA values or goals just because of these interactions—being an EA is about how you live your life and how you behave and treat others.
(again, I really do mean this all in the most understanding and sympathetic way—I hope it comes across, but I apologise if it doesn’t).