Good point, I wasn’t fully considering that. I think Michael Plant’s recent investigation into mental health as a cause area is a perfect example of the value of independent research—mental health isn’t something . While I still think it’s going to be extremely difficult to beat GiveWell in i.e., evaluating which deworming charity is most effective, or which health intervention tends to be most effective, I do think independent researchers can make important contributions in identifying GiveWell’s “blind spots”.
Mental health and education both could be good examples. At this point, GiveWell doesn’t recommend either. But they’re not areas that GiveWell has spent years building expertise in. So it’s reasonable to expect that, in these areas, a dedicated newcomer can produce research that rivals GiveWell’s in quality.
So I’d revise my stance to: Do your own research if there’s an upstream question (like the moral value of mental suffering, the validity of life satisfaction surveys, or the intrinsic value of education) that you think GiveWell might be wrong about. Often, you’ll conclude that they were right, but the value of uncovering their occasional mistakes is high. Still, trust GiveWell if you agree with their initial assumptions on what matters.
Good point, I wasn’t fully considering that. I think Michael Plant’s recent investigation into mental health as a cause area is a perfect example of the value of independent research—mental health isn’t something . While I still think it’s going to be extremely difficult to beat GiveWell in i.e., evaluating which deworming charity is most effective, or which health intervention tends to be most effective, I do think independent researchers can make important contributions in identifying GiveWell’s “blind spots”.
Mental health and education both could be good examples. At this point, GiveWell doesn’t recommend either. But they’re not areas that GiveWell has spent years building expertise in. So it’s reasonable to expect that, in these areas, a dedicated newcomer can produce research that rivals GiveWell’s in quality.
So I’d revise my stance to: Do your own research if there’s an upstream question (like the moral value of mental suffering, the validity of life satisfaction surveys, or the intrinsic value of education) that you think GiveWell might be wrong about. Often, you’ll conclude that they were right, but the value of uncovering their occasional mistakes is high. Still, trust GiveWell if you agree with their initial assumptions on what matters.