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Pain and suffering

TagLast edit: May 10, 2021, 10:39 AM by Leo

The pain and suffering tag is for posts which discuss ways to measure these phenomena, or issues that are notable for causing especially intense pain and suffering (even if they aren’t especially large in scale).

Given that EA tends to focus on the number of people affected by a problem, we may not notice when a problem affects relatively few people but is extremely bad for those it affects, leading to high overall impact. Posts with this tag may push against this tendency.

Content note: Posts with this tag may contain disconcerting or frightening content.

Related entries

mental health | sentience

Log­a­r­ith­mic Scales of Plea­sure and Pain: Rat­ing, Rank­ing, and Com­par­ing Peak Ex­pe­riences Suggest the Ex­is­tence of Long Tails for Bliss and Suffering

algekalipsoAug 11, 2019, 3:49 AM
164 points
25 comments41 min readEA link

Re­mind­ing my­self just how awful pain can get (plus, an ex­per­i­ment on my­self)

Ren RybaMar 15, 2023, 10:44 PM
307 points
60 comments16 min readEA link

Cluster Headache Fre­quency Fol­lows a Long-Tail Distribution

algekalipsoAug 2, 2019, 10:47 PM
98 points
20 comments7 min readEA link

Prob­lem area re­port: Pain

Sid SharmaNov 13, 2020, 7:26 PM
113 points
8 comments50 min readEA link

Should Chronic Pain be a cause area?

mariushobbhahnMay 18, 2021, 11:31 AM
69 points
12 comments12 min readEA link

In­creas­ing Ac­cess to Pain Relief in Devel­op­ing Coun­tries—An EA Perspective

Lee_SharkeyJan 31, 2017, 4:13 PM
89 points
19 comments10 min readEA link

Log­a­r­ith­mic Scales of Plea­sure and Pain (@Effec­tive Altru­ism NYC)

algekalipsoNov 19, 2019, 9:55 AM
14 points
2 comments2 min readEA link
(youtu.be)

Get-Out-Of-Hell-Free Necklace

algekalipsoJul 9, 2019, 9:30 PM
90 points
15 comments3 min readEA link

Kid­ney stone pain as a po­ten­tial cause area

Dan EltonMay 3, 2022, 1:30 AM
67 points
6 comments14 min readEA link

Treat­ing Cluster Headaches Us­ing N,N-DMT and Other Tryptamines

qfrerichsAug 6, 2019, 5:02 AM
43 points
3 comments9 min readEA link

Re­think Pri­ori­ties’ Welfare Range Estimates

Bob FischerJan 23, 2023, 11:37 AM
351 points
129 comments16 min readEA link

Us­ing Ibo­gaine to Create Friendlier Opioids

qfrerichsAug 6, 2019, 9:31 PM
27 points
3 comments4 min readEA link

Pain re­lief: a shal­low cause exploration

Samuel DupretJan 27, 2023, 9:55 AM
85 points
17 comments37 min readEA link
(www.happierlivesinstitute.org)

Notes from “Cog­ni­tion, welfare, and the prob­lem of in­ter­species com­par­i­sons”

Barry GrimesNov 16, 2021, 9:17 AM
30 points
0 comments11 min readEA link

Affec­tive fore­cast­ing: The challenge of pre­dict­ing fu­ture feel­ings and the im­pli­ca­tions for global pri­ori­ties research

Matt Coleman🔹Feb 17, 2022, 8:36 PM
57 points
3 comments20 min readEA link

Reliev­ing ex­treme phys­i­cal pain in hu­mans – an op­por­tu­nity for effec­tive funding

jonleightonOct 10, 2018, 12:28 PM
38 points
16 comments15 min readEA link

Just Look At The Thing! – How The Science of Con­scious­ness In­forms Ethics

algekalipsoSep 23, 2022, 6:20 AM
75 points
3 comments9 min readEA link

Re­search Sum­mary: The In­ten­sity of Valenced Ex­pe­rience across Species

Jason SchukraftNov 11, 2020, 5:26 PM
65 points
6 comments4 min readEA link

Quan­tify­ing the Global Bur­den of Ex­treme Pain from Cluster Headaches

Alfredo Parra 🔸Nov 1, 2024, 8:35 PM
202 points
20 comments27 min readEA link

[Question] What was the first be­ing on Earth to ex­pe­rience suffer­ing?

Barry GrimesJul 10, 2020, 8:05 AM
14 points
4 comments1 min readEA link

How to Mea­sure Ca­pac­ity for Welfare and Mo­ral Status

Jason SchukraftJun 1, 2020, 3:01 PM
71 points
19 comments41 min readEA link

How can we re­duce s-risks?

Tobias_BaumannJan 29, 2021, 3:46 PM
42 points
3 comments1 min readEA link
(centerforreducingsuffering.org)

The Sub­jec­tive Ex­pe­rience of Time: Welfare Implications

Jason SchukraftJul 27, 2020, 1:24 PM
113 points
21 comments63 min readEA link

The un­think­able ur­gency of suffering

Aaron BergmanJun 26, 2021, 12:14 AM
54 points
9 comments6 min readEA link
(aaronbergman.substack.com)

Re­duc­ing night­mares as a cause area

Drew HousmanJul 18, 2022, 8:29 PM
162 points
45 comments2 min readEA link

New book — “Suffer­ing-Fo­cused Ethics: Defense and Im­pli­ca­tions”

Magnus VindingMay 31, 2020, 9:27 AM
105 points
20 comments3 min readEA link

OPIS policy pa­per: Le­gal­is­ing ac­cess to psilo­cy­bin for the treat­ment of cluster headaches

jonleightonNov 12, 2020, 11:10 AM
43 points
5 comments1 min readEA link

Is pain just a sig­nal to en­list al­tru­ists?

Ben_West🔸Oct 1, 2019, 9:25 PM
73 points
10 comments4 min readEA link

OPIS ini­ti­a­tive on ac­cess to psilo­cy­bin for cluster headaches

jonleightonSep 10, 2020, 8:22 AM
61 points
5 comments3 min readEA link

De­tect­ing Mo­rally Sig­nifi­cant Pain in Non­hu­mans: Some Philo­soph­i­cal Difficulties

Jason SchukraftDec 23, 2018, 5:49 PM
73 points
8 comments22 min readEA link

Model­ling the out­comes of an­i­mal welfare in­ter­ven­tions: One pos­si­ble ap­proach to the trade-offs be­tween sub­jec­tive experiences

Animal AskMay 29, 2024, 9:06 AM
55 points
8 comments39 min readEA link

S-risk FAQ

Tobias_BaumannSep 18, 2017, 8:05 AM
29 points
8 comments8 min readEA link

[Question] Is it suffer­ing or in­vol­un­tary suffer­ing that’s bad, and when is it (in­vol­un­tary) suffer­ing?

MichaelStJulesJun 22, 2020, 4:41 PM
11 points
9 comments1 min readEA link

Mike, Mouse, Moth, Machine

tobyjDec 27, 2023, 10:02 AM
23 points
4 comments7 min readEA link
(seekingtobejolly.substack.com)

Why Neu­ron Counts Shouldn’t Be Used as Prox­ies for Mo­ral Weight

Adam ShriverNov 28, 2022, 12:07 PM
291 points
45 comments9 min readEA link
(docs.google.com)

The ro­dent birth con­trol landscape

Holly Elmore ⏸️ 🔸Apr 29, 2022, 8:00 PM
113 points
3 comments2 min readEA link
(doi.org)

What are the Red Flags for Neu­ral Net­work Suffer­ing? - Seeds of Science call for reviewers

rogersbacon1Aug 2, 2022, 4:17 PM
18 points
0 comments1 min readEA link

Blame­wor­thi­ness for Avoid­able Psy­cholog­i­cal Harms

Cullen 🔸Feb 9, 2021, 2:46 AM
38 points
13 comments9 min readEA link

A re­view of what af­fec­tive neu­ro­science knows about suffer­ing & valence. (TLDR: Affec­tive Neu­ro­science is very con­fused about what suffer­ing is.)

MikeJohnsonJan 13, 2017, 2:01 AM
27 points
18 comments12 min readEA link

Quick gen­eral thoughts on suffer­ing and consciousness

RobBensingerOct 30, 2021, 6:09 PM
9 points
3 comments21 min readEA link

Differ­ences in the In­ten­sity of Valenced Ex­pe­rience across Species

Jason SchukraftOct 30, 2020, 1:13 AM
94 points
42 comments52 min readEA link

[Link] How un­der­stand­ing valence could help make fu­ture AIs safer

Milan GriffesOct 8, 2020, 6:53 PM
22 points
2 comments3 min readEA link

Health and hap­piness re­search top­ics—Part 3: The sHALY: Devel­op­ing sub­jec­tive wellbe­ing-based health metrics

DerekDec 30, 2020, 3:27 PM
38 points
2 comments42 min readEA link

If Su­per­po­si­tions can Suffer

EricBlairOct 21, 2021, 8:37 PM
11 points
9 comments6 min readEA link

[Link] Philan­thropy, psychedelics and effec­tive altruism

andzuckMay 22, 2019, 5:54 AM
11 points
0 comments1 min readEA link

EA read­ing list: suffer­ing-fo­cused ethics

richard_ngoAug 3, 2020, 9:40 AM
43 points
3 comments1 min readEA link

[Question] Shifts in sub­jec­tive well-be­ing scales?

Milan GriffesAug 18, 2020, 6:27 PM
31 points
6 comments1 min readEA link

First S-Risk In­tro Seminar

stefan.torgesDec 8, 2020, 9:23 AM
70 points
2 comments1 min readEA link

Re­search Sum­mary: The Sub­jec­tive Ex­pe­rience of Time

Jason SchukraftAug 10, 2020, 1:28 PM
83 points
7 comments4 min readEA link

A ty­pol­ogy of s-risks

Tobias_BaumannDec 21, 2018, 6:23 PM
26 points
1 comment1 min readEA link
(s-risks.org)

Michael Plant: What are the best ways to im­prove world hap­piness?

EA GlobalNov 3, 2017, 7:43 AM
9 points
1 comment1 min readEA link
(www.youtube.com)

Suffer­ing in An­i­mals vs. Humans

Brian_TomasikAug 15, 2017, 12:03 AM
21 points
0 comments6 min readEA link
(reducing-suffering.org)

De­sire the­o­ries of welfare and non­hu­man animals

MichaelStJulesJul 16, 2022, 6:52 PM
20 points
5 comments4 min readEA link

Types of sub­jec­tive welfare

MichaelStJulesFeb 2, 2024, 9:56 AM
42 points
0 comments18 min readEA link

An In­tro­duc­tion to the Mo­ral Weight Project

Bob FischerOct 31, 2022, 9:13 AM
180 points
10 comments10 min readEA link

Why s-risks are the worst ex­is­ten­tial risks, and how to pre­vent them

Max_DanielJun 2, 2017, 8:48 AM
10 points
1 comment22 min readEA link
(www.youtube.com)

If Adult In­sects Mat­ter, How Much Do Ju­ve­niles Mat­ter?

Bob FischerFeb 6, 2023, 1:33 PM
93 points
11 comments25 min readEA link

No in­juries were reported

JulianHazellFeb 14, 2023, 2:18 AM
383 points
10 comments2 min readEA link
(muddyclothes.substack.com)

Welfare and felt du­ra­tion (An­dreas Mo­gensen)

Global Priorities InstituteNov 27, 2023, 3:40 PM
24 points
5 comments2 min readEA link

Plea­sure and suffer­ing are not con­cep­tual opposites

MichaelStJulesAug 11, 2024, 6:32 PM
32 points
7 comments1 min readEA link

“Di­men­sions of Pain” work­shop: Sum­mary and up­dated conclusions

Rethink PrioritiesAug 21, 2023, 3:56 PM
88 points
8 comments13 min readEA link

Re­search Re­port: Im­prov­ing Ac­cess to Pal­li­a­tive Care in Sub-Sa­haran Africa

KT HobbsFeb 13, 2024, 12:59 AM
29 points
0 comments43 min readEA link

New Open Ac­cess Book: Weigh­ing An­i­mal Welfare, ed­ited by Bob Fischer

Bob FischerOct 22, 2024, 11:25 AM
145 points
9 comments2 min readEA link

How much (phys­i­cal) suffer­ing is there? Part I: Humans

mariushobbhahnJan 10, 2021, 12:47 PM
10 points
4 comments11 min readEA link

New 4-hour pod­cast about the fu­ture of con­scious­ness with An­drés Gómez Emils­son from the Qualia Re­search In­sti­tute

Gus DockerJan 30, 2021, 9:41 AM
11 points
2 comments1 min readEA link

The ap­pli­ca­bil­ity of transsen­tien­tist crit­i­cal path analysis

Peter SøllingAug 11, 2020, 11:26 AM
0 points
2 comments32 min readEA link
(www.optimalaltruism.com)

Why I’m skep­ti­cal about us­ing sub­jec­tive time ex­pe­rience to as­sign moral weights

Andreas_MogensenJan 22, 2024, 11:45 AM
67 points
15 comments7 min readEA link

Quan­tify­ing an­i­mal suffer­ing and the im­pact of in­ter­ven­tions us­ing the Welfare Foot­print Framework

Wladimir J. AlonsoOct 17, 2024, 1:39 PM
52 points
2 comments15 min readEA link

Suffer­ing re­lief vs life extension

drbrakeNov 19, 2018, 4:55 PM
5 points
1 comment1 min readEA link

Health and hap­piness re­search top­ics—Part 1: Back­ground on QALYs and DALYs

DerekDec 9, 2020, 12:38 AM
126 points
8 comments61 min readEA link

Is Suffer­ing Con­vex?

DavidmanheimOct 21, 2018, 11:44 AM
21 points
16 comments3 min readEA link

AMA: To­bias Bau­mann, Cen­ter for Re­duc­ing Suffering

Tobias_BaumannSep 6, 2020, 10:45 AM
48 points
45 comments1 min readEA link

In­tro­duc­tion to suffer­ing-fo­cused ethics

Center for Reducing SufferingAug 30, 2024, 4:55 PM
56 points
2 comments22 min readEA link

Grayson Hadley on Elimi­nat­ing Suffering

Group OrganizerOct 8, 2021, 1:03 AM
2 points
0 comments1 min readEA link

A new place to dis­cuss cog­ni­tive sci­ence, ethics and hu­man alignment

Daniel_FriedrichNov 4, 2022, 2:34 PM
9 points
1 comment2 min readEA link
(www.facebook.com)

Sharks prob­a­bly do feel pain: a re­ply to Michael Tye and others

Max_CarpendaleFeb 4, 2019, 1:51 PM
21 points
2 comments5 min readEA link

The prob­lem of ar­tifi­cial suffering

mlsbtSep 24, 2021, 2:43 PM
50 points
3 comments9 min readEA link

The Rel­a­tive Im­por­tance of the Sever­ity and Du­ra­tion of Pain

William McAuliffeOct 18, 2022, 4:50 PM
93 points
4 comments25 min readEA link

What 99% of peo­ple don’t know about Wild Animals

Jack Hancock-FairsDec 8, 2024, 8:26 PM
58 points
3 comments1 min readEA link

The case to abol­ish the biol­ogy of suffer­ing as a longter­mist action

Gaetan_Selle 🔷May 21, 2022, 8:51 AM
38 points
8 comments4 min readEA link

Edit­ing wild an­i­mals is un­der­ex­plored in What We Owe the Future

Michael HuangAug 31, 2022, 2:26 PM
32 points
5 comments3 min readEA link

In­ver­te­brate pain and suffer­ing: What do anal­gesic stud­ies tell us?

Timothy ChanSep 22, 2021, 4:52 PM
32 points
3 comments11 min readEA link

PAF: Opi­oid Epidemic

egastfriendMar 13, 2019, 1:25 PM
12 points
5 comments1 min readEA link
(www.harvardea.org)

Farmed an­i­mals may have pos­i­tive lives now or in a few decades?

Vasco Grilo🔸Oct 26, 2024, 9:18 AM
24 points
10 comments7 min readEA link

Pro­mot­ing com­pas­sion­ate longtermism

jonleightonDec 7, 2022, 2:26 PM
117 points
5 comments12 min readEA link

New book: The Tango of Ethics: In­tu­ition, Ra­tion­al­ity and the Preven­tion of Suffering

jonleightonJan 2, 2023, 8:45 AM
114 points
3 comments5 min readEA link

Don’t Balk at An­i­mal-friendly Results

Bob FischerJan 16, 2023, 11:52 AM
152 points
7 comments14 min readEA link

How much (phys­i­cal) suffer­ing is there? Part II: Animals

mariushobbhahnJan 10, 2021, 12:48 PM
13 points
4 comments15 min readEA link

Ge­netic En­hance­ment as a Cause Area

GaltonDec 25, 2019, 11:30 AM
112 points
21 comments12 min readEA link

The Welfare Range Table

Bob FischerNov 7, 2022, 10:19 AM
365 points
17 comments8 min readEA link

Does the Tra­jec­tory of Pain Mat­ter?

William McAuliffeOct 18, 2022, 7:18 PM
31 points
1 comment11 min readEA link

A chat with Kyle Jo­hannsen, au­thor of Wild An­i­mal Ethics: The Mo­ral and Poli­ti­cal Prob­lem of Wild An­i­mal Suffering

Michael HuangJun 18, 2022, 1:00 PM
24 points
3 comments9 min readEA link

What Is It Like For An­i­mals To Suffer?

ozymandiasJun 22, 2021, 7:00 AM
15 points
0 comments1 min readEA link
(thingofthings.substack.com)

High Time For Drug Policy Re­form. Part 2/​4: Six Ways It Could Do Good And An­ti­ci­pat­ing The Objections

MichaelPlantAug 10, 2017, 7:34 PM
16 points
15 comments28 min readEA link

The Im­por­tance of Ar­tifi­cial Sentience

Jamie_HarrisMar 3, 2021, 5:17 PM
70 points
10 comments11 min readEA link
(www.sentienceinstitute.org)

In defense of quan­tify­ing suffering

frances_lorenzMar 21, 2025, 1:21 PM
41 points
5 comments3 min readEA link

The Pain That Is or The Pain That Is Felt?

Jai 🔸Dec 24, 2024, 1:33 AM
15 points
5 comments14 min readEA link

The Pos­si­bil­ity of Microor­ganism Suffering

Elias Au-YeungAug 7, 2022, 6:02 AM
49 points
5 comments30 min readEA link

Si­mu­la­tors and Mindcrime

𝕮𝖎𝖓𝖊𝖗𝖆Dec 9, 2022, 3:20 PM
1 point
0 comments1 min readEA link

Im­pli­ca­tions of an­i­mal “life satis­fac­tion”

VictorWJan 2, 2025, 11:00 AM
9 points
0 comments3 min readEA link

Com­mon-sense sen­tience is dubious

Timothy ChanMar 21, 2023, 3:32 PM
23 points
4 comments7 min readEA link

Un­der­stand­ing the two most com­mon men­tal health prob­lems in the world

spencergJul 6, 2023, 2:06 PM
35 points
5 comments7 min readEA link
(www.clearerthinking.org)

[Question] De­bates on re­duc­ing long-term s-risks?

jackchang110Apr 6, 2023, 1:26 AM
13 points
2 comments1 min readEA link

What Are Dreams Worth?

Hans GundlachMay 14, 2023, 7:06 AM
19 points
1 comment4 min readEA link

The Quest for a Stone-Free World: Chanca Pie­dra (Phyl­lan­thus niruri) as an Acute and Pro­phy­lac­tic Treat­ment for Kid­ney Stones and Their As­so­ci­ated Ex­treme Nega­tive Valence

algekalipsoFeb 18, 2025, 12:08 AM
70 points
10 comments32 min readEA link

Perché i rischi di sofferenza sono i rischi es­isten­ziali peg­giori e come pos­si­amo prevenirli

EA ItalyJan 17, 2023, 11:14 AM
1 point
0 comments1 min readEA link

HLI’s Giv­ing Sea­son 2023 Re­search Overview

Happier Lives InstituteNov 28, 2023, 2:03 PM
53 points
4 comments19 min readEA link
(www.happierlivesinstitute.org)

[Question] Who should we in­ter­view for The 80,000 Hours Pod­cast?

Luisa_RodriguezSep 13, 2023, 12:23 PM
87 points
136 comments2 min readEA link

[Question] What About Creat­ing an App That Would An­swer Any Ques­tion Re­lated to Suffer­ing?

RobertDaoustJan 25, 2025, 4:16 PM
−3 points
4 comments1 min readEA link

[Linkpost] My moral view: Re­duc­ing suffer­ing, ‘how to be’ as fun­da­men­tal to moral­ity, no pos­i­tive value, cons of grand the­ory, and more—By Si­mon Knutsson

Alistair WebsterAug 25, 2023, 12:53 PM
35 points
2 comments2 min readEA link
(centerforreducingsuffering.org)

OPIS suffer­ing sur­vey: a re­quest for your help!

jonleightonSep 12, 2024, 1:27 PM
15 points
0 comments1 min readEA link

Why I Think All The Species Of Sig­nifi­cantly De­bated Con­scious­ness Are Con­scious And Suffer Intensely

Bentham's BulldogNov 20, 2024, 4:11 PM
65 points
26 comments33 min readEA link

Rais­ing Welfare for Lab Rodents

xander_balwitJul 21, 2024, 3:46 PM
22 points
0 comments1 min readEA link
(press.asimov.com)

David Pearce: Abo­li­tion­ist bioethics

EA GlobalAug 28, 2015, 4:14 PM
17 points
0 comments1 min readEA link
(www.youtube.com)

My fa­vorite ar­ti­cles by Brian To­masik and what they are about

Timothy ChanFeb 24, 2024, 6:10 PM
79 points
4 comments4 min readEA link

Risk fac­tors for s-risks

Tobias_BaumannFeb 13, 2019, 5:51 PM
40 points
3 comments1 min readEA link
(s-risks.org)

Why I think the Foun­da­tional Re­search In­sti­tute should re­think its approach

MikeJohnsonJul 20, 2017, 8:46 PM
45 points
76 comments20 min readEA link

Can AI power the Global Map­ping and Quan­tifi­ca­tion of An­i­mal Suffer­ing? The Pain At­las Project

Wladimir J. AlonsoJun 25, 2024, 9:48 PM
33 points
0 comments1 min readEA link
(welfarefootprint.org)

Health and hap­piness re­search top­ics—Part 2: The HALY+: Im­prov­ing prefer­ence-based health metrics

DerekJan 3, 2021, 3:08 PM
56 points
3 comments73 min readEA link

[Creative Writ­ing Con­test] What Mother Doesn’t Want Happy Chil­dren?

Zmavli CaimleOct 30, 2021, 4:55 AM
1 point
0 comments4 min readEA link

Evolu­tion, Pain, Suffer­ing, and Ed Yong

MattBallNov 24, 2022, 1:36 PM
13 points
4 comments2 min readEA link
(www.mattball.org)

An­nounc­ing WildAn­i­malSuffer­ing.org, a new re­source launched for the cause

David van BeverenDec 12, 2022, 1:48 PM
187 points
30 comments1 min readEA link

On­line Work­ing /​ Com­mu­nity Meetup for the Abo­li­tion of Suffering

Ruth_SeleoMay 31, 2022, 9:16 AM
7 points
5 comments1 min readEA link

A brief look at re­duc­ing the effi­ciency of genocides

NLHeathNov 11, 2020, 6:07 PM
35 points
5 comments9 min readEA link

In­tac­tivism as a po­ten­tial Effec­tive Altru­ist cause area?

Question MarkJun 26, 2021, 7:21 AM
1 point
8 comments3 min readEA link

Sym­pa­thec­tomies—The New Lobotomy

handoftheenemyAug 27, 2022, 8:28 AM
38 points
10 comments5 min readEA link

[Question] Can you recom­mend as­so­ci­a­tions that deal with re­duc­ing suffer­ing?

YanaySep 12, 2022, 11:28 PM
24 points
17 comments1 min readEA link

Short Re­search Sum­mary: Can in­sects feel pain? A re­view of the neu­ral and be­havi­oural ev­i­dence by Gib­bons et al. 2022

Meghan BarrettNov 22, 2022, 4:46 PM
214 points
22 comments3 min readEA link
(authors.elsevier.com)

Med­i­cal As­sis­tance in Dy­ing for the Men­tally Ill as a Cause Area for Nega­tive Utilitarians

anonymous throwawayApr 1, 2024, 8:04 AM
20 points
6 comments2 min readEA link

How to re­al­is­ti­cally re­duce most suffer­ing on earth

Stijn Bruers 🔸Jun 30, 2024, 8:10 AM
45 points
4 comments5 min readEA link

Prevent­ing low back pain with exercise

Ryan KiddSep 28, 2021, 5:00 AM
15 points
7 comments2 min readEA link
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