cdc482

• cdc482Aug 16, 2016, 9:22 PM

  2 points

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  in reply to: tjmather’s comment on: Effec­tive Altru­ists re­ally love EA: Ev­i­dence from EA Global

  Just my opinion. I’d like to see more EA’s working together. For example, at a couple events there were discussion of helping people pursue higher paying jobs in software development. I met another EA who invests money for EAs at a rate significantly higher than the market without taking fees.

• cdc482Aug 15, 2016, 10:32 PM

  6 points

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  in reply to: Peter Wildeford’s comment on: Effec­tive Altru­ists re­ally love EA: Ev­i­dence from EA Global

  Im an EA. I’ve donated over 50% of my income for over 3 years, and I’ve been active volunteering (informally and formally) for over 8 years. I rarely felt comfortable at an EA event or meetup.

  Ive met a handful of people who donate 10%, and a handful of people who do some volunteer work. I’ve also met a bunch of people I suspect of being more interested in philosophy and socializing than altruism. EA community building is a huge disappointment.

  There is huge potential in EAs working together—the sum of the wholes are greater than the sum of the parts. But after 3 years of trying, I’m about ready to give up.

• cdc482Aug 15, 2016, 1:48 AM

  3 points

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  on: Effec­tive Altru­ists re­ally love EA: Ev­i­dence from EA Global

  “Lets poll EAG attendees to see how EAs feel about EA” -no statistician ever

• cdc482Aug 9, 2016, 11:28 PM

  1 point

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  on: Start­ing a con­ver­sa­tion about Effec­tive Environmentalism

  I think is a great opportunity for the information we know on acting well to be formalized into recommendations. For example, I believe the consensus is that buying organic is not particularly good for environment while going veg has a large measurable effect. There are other relatively small changes you can make to your home and place of employment like reducing waste and planting trees. Any have input?

• cdc482Jul 30, 2016, 7:17 PM

  0 points

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  in reply to: AGB 🔸’s comment on: Earn­ing to Give v. Pur­su­ing your Pas­sion/​Direct Work

  Regarding the second quote, pretend you’re debating between a job you love and a job that pays double. The quote is saying that if you really love the job, you may wind up being paid comparably anyway, because people who are passionate about their work tend to be the best, and tend to be paid way more than average.

Earn­ing to Give v. Pur­su­ing your Pas­sion/​Direct Work

• cdc482Jul 29, 2016, 10:59 PM

  0 points

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  on: Mak­ing EA groups more welcoming

  Id like to see a similar post about productive group events.

  This rings true for the meetup I attend.

  (Homogenous groups miss out on talent, experience, and information held by those who aren’t in the limited social group they recruit from. We end up with lopsided skill sets and the same conversations again and again.)

• cdc482Jul 29, 2016, 2:41 AM

  0 points

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  in reply to: egastfriend’s comment on: Philan­thropy Ad­vi­sory Fel­low­ship: Men­tal Health in Sub-Sa­haran Africa

  If I remember correctly, participants were read stories and then asked to recall sad details. Not trying to be a downer, but the study’s design is poorly related to PTSD.

• cdc482Jul 25, 2016, 4:27 AM

  3 points

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  in reply to: Peter Wildeford’s comment on: Rea­sons for EA Mee­tups to Exist

  EA dark humor.

• cdc482Jul 23, 2016, 3:16 PM

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  in reply to: John_Maxwell’s comment on: 50% ev­ery 5 years > 10% ev­ery year

  Good point, the best strategy will vary based on income. I guess getting above that $6,500 is the first hurdle.

• cdc482Jul 23, 2016, 3:12 PM

  3 points

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  in reply to: Jeff Kaufman 🔸’s comment on: 50% ev­ery 5 years > 10% ev­ery year

  The December and January donation idea is a great solution. Also, touche’. This wouldn’t apply to people itemizing due to other deductions like a mortgage.

• cdc482Jul 23, 2016, 4:34 AM

  0 points

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  in reply to: kokotajlod’s comment on: EA != min­i­mize suffering

  Makes sense. Ethics—like spirituality—seems far too complicated too have a simple set of rules.

50% ev­ery 5 years > 10% ev­ery year

• cdc482Jul 22, 2016, 12:38 PM

  1 point

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  on: Philan­thropy Ad­vi­sory Fel­low­ship: Water, San­i­ta­tion, and Handwashing

  This is really cool work you’re doing! How much money has been donated more effectively as a result? I bet GiveWell and Open Phil would be interested in seeing the evidence generated as a result of your recommendation.

  Unrelated and less interesting, I remember hearing a few years ago that the lack of benefits from providing safe drinking water (reduction in illness from water-born bacteria) was not due to a lack of technological solutions. In fact, the technology exists and is inexpensive to supply. However, there are societal and cultural difficulties in convincing people that there is any benefit to using the technology. After all, for generations they have viewed diarrhea as a part of life instead of as a symptom of unclean drinking water. I wonder what you’ve found related to changing social and cultural attitudes in lake or river communities.

• cdc482Jul 22, 2016, 12:31 PM

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  on: Philan­thropy Ad­vi­sory Fel­low­ship: Men­tal Health in Sub-Sa­haran Africa

  Have you shared this with GiveWell or Open Phil team? Especially considering that depression has such a negative impact on DALYs or QALYs (whichever you prefer), I think much of this research could be done outside of sub-Saharan Africa.

  Also, where did you find the information regarding propranolol for PTSD? I remember reading about a couple studies done in Canada a couple years back that seemed promising, but concluded there was a lot more testing to be done.

• cdc482Jul 21, 2016, 1:37 AM

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  in reply to: Julia_Wise🔸’s comment on: EA != min­i­mize suffering

  I’m surprised how personally you took that. I was just speaking generally, though you did say it better.

• cdc482Jul 21, 2016, 1:35 AM

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  on: Rea­sons for EA Mee­tups to Exist

  I agree that diminishing returns are hit very quickly when the focus is on effective “donating.” I am interested in skills training, and I have proposed a group therapy-like format, where EAs discuss their own experiences with altruism and effectiveness—including complications/​issues, success stories, and even promoting altruistic qualities in other aspects of life.

  For example, I think we could learn a lot from the officer in the video below—to see through all the divisive boundaries of the current system and do the best you can in the current situation. These traits take practice, and community support is vital. Open-mindedness, empathy, willingness, and resolve.

  http://​​www.cnn.com/​​videos/​​us/​​2016/​​07/​​19/​​dancing-cop-black-lives-matter-bbq.ksnw

• cdc482Jul 14, 2016, 10:34 PM

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  in reply to: Lila’s comment on: EA != min­i­mize suffering

  EA is an evolving movement, but the reasons for prioritizing violence and poor governance in the developing world seem weak. It’s certainly altruistic and the amount of suffering it addresses is enormous. However, the world is in such a sad state of affairs, that I don’t think such a complex and unexplored will compete with charities addressing basic needs like alleviating poverty or even OpenPhil’s current agenda of prison reform and factory farm suffering. That said, you could start the exploring. Isn’t that how the other causes became mainstream within the EA movement?

• cdc482Jul 14, 2016, 3:09 AM

  2 points

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  in reply to: ClaireZabel’s comment on: EA != min­i­mize suffering

  I had fun talking with you, so I googled your username. :O

  Thank you for all the inspirational work you do for EA! You’re a real-life superhero! I feel like a little kid meeting Batman. I can’t believe you took the time to talk to me!

• cdc482Jul 14, 2016, 3:06 AM

  0 points

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  in reply to: ClaireZabel’s comment on: EA != min­i­mize suffering

  Touche’. I concede, but I just want to reiterate that fiction “can and often does involve revealing important truths,” so that I am not haunted by the ghost of Joseph Campbell.