Jeff A

• Jeff ASep 30, 2022, 3:10 AM

  7 points

  3 ∶ 1

  in reply to: Matthew Yglesias’s comment on: My Per­sonal Story of Re­jec­tion from EA Global

  I too find money being an issue very unlikely. They rented out a government venue for the weekend with staff serving vegan food and cleaning up after you as if you were royalty. Maybe I’m just not used to this kind of lifestyle due to me a couple of years ago having to be a busser for similar venues, but I still found it odd how an organization that is meant to be about using our ‘limited resources to do the most good’ must’ve spent big bucks on this venue.

Carnegie Coun­cil MisUn­der­stands Longtermism

• Jeff ASep 29, 2022, 9:18 PM

  3 points

  0 ∶ 0

  in reply to: Linch’s comment on: My Per­sonal Story of Re­jec­tion from EA Global

  Yeah I really appreciate you trying to prevent the bad discussion norms and keep good-faith conversations.

  I’m left social liberal and very progressive but I often feel aggressive attitudes and whining (which I did) doesn’t solve racial disparities and inequality and often misses the problems. And these are attitudes that I feel are too common among white, rich, liberals. (This isn’t me trying to talk bad about white, rich, liberals or say they all do this. It’s just trends I’ve noticed since joining EA a bit over a year ago.)

• Jeff ASep 29, 2022, 4:06 PM

  1 point

  0 ∶ 0

  in reply to: Linch’s comment on: My Per­sonal Story of Re­jec­tion from EA Global

  Upvote. My messaging was erroneous. I meant to say that the fact I mentioned the majority demographic possibly made people uncomfortable and then led them to downvote.

  Ofc, the downvotes are also because of how my comment came off as aggressive. I appreciate the constructive response though, Linch.

• Jeff ASep 28, 2022, 4:38 AM

  6 points

  1 ∶ 0

  in reply to: MaxRa’s comment on: My Per­sonal Story of Re­jec­tion from EA Global

  Fair point. Upvote in karma. My comment wasn’t meant to insinuate that the EAs who downvoted would want EA to continue to be a white majority, but that the down votes could demonstrate how they disliked the truth of disparities my comment was stating and how it might’ve made them uncomfortable.

  I think the Magnifying Mentor is a great program and am very pleased to have just found out it exists. But it’s meant for women, non-binary, and transgender people. Not people of color. My comments weren’t about gender or sex, although those are disparities that we should aim to lessen.

  I did notice a woman at EAG tell her friend of the “20:3” ratio at a workshop. It was also this comment that made me realize how I was the only Hispanic in all the EAG events I attended until my second to last event on Sunday. In fact, Jordan’s reminder of the discrepancy in race and ethnicity was what caused me to make my comments. This is not me putting the blame on him or her. I have bad experiences with Caucasian EAs comments and “solutions” to racial and ethnic disparities and race relation issues.

  I apologize for my snarky reaction and miscommunication and will keep it on the thread as a reminder to myself and others as not how to respond.

  I appreciate the constructive criticism, Max.

• Jeff ASep 27, 2022, 8:55 PM

  −22 points

  1 ∶ 4

  in reply to: Jeff A’s comment on: My Per­sonal Story of Re­jec­tion from EA Global

  Seeing how my comment above has 10 downvotes in karma and 10 downvotes in agreement feels like another example of how the group I mentioned is overrepresented when compared to the general population and how uncomfortable said group is about the truth.

  The EA community cannot deny how EAG disproportionately has people from wealthy households and elite academic institutions. This fact shouldn’t be controversial, though I admit I could’ve phrased it in a nicer way.
  
  I wonder how my comment would’ve faired if I just commented my second part.
  

• Jeff ASep 26, 2022, 8:25 PM

  −30 points

  2 ∶ 11

  in reply to: Jordan_Schneider’s comment on: My Per­sonal Story of Re­jec­tion from EA Global

  Seeing the −10 downvotes and −7 agreement just shows how the vast majority of people at EA Conferences are Caucasians from elite, wealthy families, schools, or backgrounds.
  
  I didn’t take a vote on Jordan’s comment because I feel Constance’s post is more about her strong merits and qualifications and not her ethnicity.

• Jeff ASep 26, 2022, 8:14 PM

  13 points

  1 ∶ 0

  on: My Per­sonal Story of Re­jec­tion from EA Global

  Hi Constance, I’m Jeff, you might’ve seen me at a couple of EA NYC events. I’m also from NJ and go to Rutgers-Newark, not the New Brunswick campus (sadly due to financial reasons) that has EA faculty.

  I wanted to go to the EA NYC population ethics event because I love talks on ethics, but I had deadline(s) for work and/​or school that day or weekend. I wish I could’ve met you that day!

  I share a similar sense of alienation from the EA community at times and am often annoyed by the elitism in the EA community If you ever want to talk, feel free to DM me.

• Jeff ASep 19, 2022, 2:11 AM

  1 point

  0 ∶ 0

  in reply to: TW123’s comment on: Look­ing for a Room­mate for EA Global in D.C., ASAP!

  Thanks for the intel. I checked my email and didn’t see it. I did see in one of the emails there’s a google doc guide for the conference and it mentions Slack, but I don’t have the link or invite. Can you DM me it, invite me, or ask someone in Slack to invite me?

  Maybe I haven’t gotten it because I registered two days again when I got my acceptance email. Thanks again. :)

• Jeff ASep 12, 2022, 7:54 PM

  1 point

  0 ∶ 0

  in reply to: geoffrey’s comment on: Best Eco­nomics Course for A Re­search In­tern­ship in In­ter­na­tional Eco­nomics?

  Extremely informative posts. Thanks so much!
  
  And I can’t wait to read a Paul Krugman textbook.
  
  My Social Development Goals textbook is “The Age of Sustainable Development” by Jeffrey Sachs. This class is most likely going to be my favorite.

Best Eco­nomics Course for A Re­search In­tern­ship in In­ter­na­tional Eco­nomics?

• Jeff AAug 11, 2022, 7:06 PM

  2 points

  0 ∶ 0

  in reply to: kbog’s comment on: Mili­tary Ser­vice as an Op­tion to Build Ca­reer Capital

  Hey, thanks for the reply and information. I’m not looking to od ROTC or reserves right now. Possibly after I graduate. Thanks for the information of doing National Guard along graduate economics program and a career in developmental economics, that is definitely something to consider.

• Jeff AAug 10, 2022, 5:00 PM

  2 points

  0 ∶ 0

  in reply to: freedomandutility’s comment on: Mili­tary Ser­vice as an Op­tion to Build Ca­reer Capital

  I haven’t looked too into it in a year because the last time I checked the criteria were for only undergraduates and graduates attending elite and Ivy League universities. Also, most of them seem to not have occurred in the last two years.

  I’ll be attending Rutgers University for the remainder of my undergraduate but have my fingers crossed of getting into Columbia or NYU Some links and resources you are aware of would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

• Jeff AAug 10, 2022, 4:57 AM

  1 point

  0 ∶ 0

  in reply to: Molly’s comment on: Mili­tary Ser­vice as an Op­tion to Build Ca­reer Capital

  First off, thank you for your service.
  
  I’ve thought about the Guard bc I’m a family-oriented person so I wouldn’t want to be deployed out of state too long.

  What are the difference pros and cons of the national guard? Especially tuition, career capital, and insurance.
  

• Jeff AAug 10, 2022, 12:20 AM

  1 point

  0 ∶ 0

  in reply to: Linch’s comment on: Mili­tary Ser­vice as an Op­tion to Build Ca­reer Capital

  Currently an undergraduate junior in economics. I plan on doing a master’s and Ph.D. in economics and focusing my career on research into global priorities, global health, and poverty. Policy and governance domestically and internationally are also intriguing to me too. Seeing as how tuition gave my family and me a near heart attack and my sister who is 30 has her student loans be a hindrance to her still, it would be wise to finance my tuition effectively.
  
  Thanks for the concern :)

• Jeff AAug 9, 2022, 11:52 PM

  6 points

  0 ∶ 0

  on: Open Thread: June — Septem­ber 2022

  Hey, I’m Jeffrey Arana. Raised and reside in Hudson County, NJ. I live right across Manhattan so you might have seen me in EA NYC events.

  I first heard about EA through the Peter Singer TED Talk and then went down that rabbit hole. I kind of fell off and would donate 10% of my paychecks here and there until Sam Harris interviewed Toby Ord a year ago and got me thinking about having a career in EA.

  Some personal non-EA things about me: I love to play and watch football (I’m sorry, soccer), penny board around NYC and my neighborhood, try cooking some new vegan dishes, and read books.

  I’m an undergraduate in economics at Rutgers University-Newark but will be transferring to the New Brunswick campus in Spring 2023 and hopefully help restart the EA chapter there.

  Some of the career options I’m mostly interested in are research into global priorities, global health, and poverty. Policy and governance domestically and internationally are also intriguing to me too. Earning to give would be something interesting to try while an undergraduate.

  Although I don’t see myself dedicating my career to AI or factory farming I consider them both top priorities as well (I’m vegan) and looking forward to learning about AI safety!

• Jeff AAug 9, 2022, 11:30 PM

  5 points

  0 ∶ 0

  on: Mili­tary Ser­vice as an Op­tion to Build Ca­reer Capital

  As someone who is considering how to finance grad school, I found this very informative. Though I’m curious about more of the difference between active duty and national guard.