Harvard College group organizer, co-lead for the Arete Fellowship (introductory EA fellowship). Studying statistics and linguistics. Interested in pandemic preparedness. Pre-MD PhD.
aL
Karma: 72
(disclaimer: I’m someone who’s been in EA for ~3 years that digs for EA material for the general public, not someone with tons of lived experience in EA).
For palatability, there are still cases where early EA ideas such as charity evaluation didn’t take well. Public perception didn’t seem to ever be straightforward praise (contrast w/ an org like Partners in Health) and confusion seemed to be pretty abundant (e.g., common criticisms of “EA” where just toward earning to give). Paraphrasing MacFarquhar in Strangers Drowning, optimization and “cold-blooded” charity seem to draw suspicion, and it’s not straightforward to say that EA has become less publicly palatable.
This table seems to more fit a broad categorization of two clusters in EA that are becoming more distinct rather than a time trend. As a college group organizer, the increased sorting of people more focused on empirical evidence + direct intervention and people more focused on theoretical projections + inference used to worry me more, though now I think it’s probably better for group dynamics, organization, and overall impact. It hasn’t fragmented the EA campus community (yet) and is more for specialization—there’s still sharing of tools, pedagogy, and other helpful resources. (This diffusion may not be reflected in EA careers/EA orgs). It’s still possible these two vague factions fully split, possibly leaving one side with the lion’s share of funding and influence, but I don’t see either fully disappearing.
I think Excellent Sheep by Deresiewicz mentions that very selective institutions are looking for “pointy circles”—e.g., better than average in most things with one particularly standout trait. It’s been a while since I read it, so I think it might be looking over again with a critical eye toward the stats.
Also, well-roundedness, at least from word-of-mouth from someone involved in medical school admissions at a top 25 medical school, is used to proxy “effortlessness” rather than passion, i.e., someone who can handle much more work than average without burning out. From peers that look at their college admissions folder, there tends to be selection for filling a certain niche on campus (e.g., this person will probably lead a cultural club, this one is likely to join this niche club, etc.). So in some ways, it actively selects against students who primarily want to pursue high impact careers.