I don’t donate to any of them. I wonder if I should be more utilitarian by not tipping at restaurants and other things along those lines.
The cases i can think of to donate to these services would be along these 3 lines:
You actually do think donating to wikipedia or X podcast etc directly or indirectly helps you enough that it is the most effective way to do good. I find it hard to imagine the direct impact of a podcast would be that big, but I can imagine a podcast leading people to make impactful career changes. In this case, it would have a similar impact to 80,000 Hours.
You think a service makes an even more indirect impact by helping you take a break, which makes you more productive.
I want to do it. I don’t care if I’m effective.
I’m open to argument 1. I do think stuff I’ve read online and podcasts I’ve listened too have been enormously important in my life.
That said I’d think about the marginal impact of my donation. If I thought X podcaster really needed the money to continue podcasting I’d consider donating to them. If the podcaster was already really successful and I didn’t think they’d use my money well then I’d be less likely to donate to them.
I also think argument 2 is valid, though I’m skeptical that any service which helps you take a break is the best cause.
I don’t like my third argument, but I think there are plenty of effective altruists who would endorse it.
To add on to your thoughts about argument 2: even if taking breaks with X podcaster is crucial to your personal productivity, you should still ask yourself whether X podcaster needs your money to continue podcasting. And then even if you decide they don’t need your money to continue, but you really want those fuzzies from donating to X podcaster, then remember to purchase fuzzies and utilons separately.
I don’t donate to any of them. I wonder if I should be more utilitarian by not tipping at restaurants and other things along those lines.
The cases i can think of to donate to these services would be along these 3 lines:
You actually do think donating to wikipedia or X podcast etc directly or indirectly helps you enough that it is the most effective way to do good. I find it hard to imagine the direct impact of a podcast would be that big, but I can imagine a podcast leading people to make impactful career changes. In this case, it would have a similar impact to 80,000 Hours.
You think a service makes an even more indirect impact by helping you take a break, which makes you more productive.
I want to do it. I don’t care if I’m effective.
I’m open to argument 1. I do think stuff I’ve read online and podcasts I’ve listened too have been enormously important in my life.
That said I’d think about the marginal impact of my donation. If I thought X podcaster really needed the money to continue podcasting I’d consider donating to them. If the podcaster was already really successful and I didn’t think they’d use my money well then I’d be less likely to donate to them.
I also think argument 2 is valid, though I’m skeptical that any service which helps you take a break is the best cause.
I don’t like my third argument, but I think there are plenty of effective altruists who would endorse it.
To add on to your thoughts about argument 2: even if taking breaks with X podcaster is crucial to your personal productivity, you should still ask yourself whether X podcaster needs your money to continue podcasting. And then even if you decide they don’t need your money to continue, but you really want those fuzzies from donating to X podcaster, then remember to purchase fuzzies and utilons separately.