Based in London, UK.
I have a PhD in applied mathematics, and worked for several years on the mitigation of low probability, high severity natural risks to nuclear power stations.
My current focus is on space weather risk mitigation in the European space sector.
I have several years experience running a local EA group, and experience as a researcher for EA orgs.
That’s for the inspiring story, and to all the previous commenters.
My memory is one of my most failing attributes, but this post has encouraged me to contribute to this forum for the first time after being an occasional spectator, so here goes.
In early 2016, I was playing table-tennis with my older brother. Table-tennis is a unique game because it takes a lot of concentration, yet it is possible to have a fully engaged conversation with your opponent at the same time. Back and forth, we talked. I said something like this:
“I’m gonna start a PhD soon. I’ll earn a small stipend. Based on how much living has cost over the last few years, I’ll still have a lot left over. Then I’ll graduate and earn more money, and have more left over. Other people surely need this surplus money more than me. So I should give some of it away.”
At the same time, I was trying to make better financial decisions, and was dabbling in financial investment. So I asked my brother a question:
“With this leftover money, is it best to give it to charity now or to invest it and give it later?”
We threw around some ideas about compound interest, duty to help now, problems now being worse than problems later, and that we might learn more later to give in a more impactful way. We didn’t get very far with the discussion, so I Googled it. The words “Effective Altruism” kept cropping up, and I found my way to Peter Singer’s TED talk.
I was already convinced by Peter Singer’s anti-speciesist arguments against eating animal products, as I had been vegan for about a year, so it was intriguing to hear about other philosophical stances he argues for. His talk piqued my interest in EA, which, with the aid of our local EA group, has slowly drawn me further and further into its logical and compassionate underworld.
I had dabbled with various social and intellectual movements previously, but had always felt something not quite right. Some were to insular, some too tribal, some lacking in good intellectual practices, with misaligned incentives. What I loves about EA, that other groups I have dabbled with in the past, is its ability to self criticise, to learn, to change its mind, to accept that we might be wrong, and that other people might be right, but to try to listen to all parties, and to get as close to the right answers as we can be. I also was drawn in by the idea that this movement is not be bound to an arbitrary cause, rather it is about finding correct answers to one of the most fundamental questions we face: how can we do the most good?
Since then, I have met some of the best people I know, I have changed my mind a lot, and I have improved in many areas of my life. I am now the chair of my city’s local group, I volunteer for an EA-aligned organisation, and I am planning on moving from researching mathematics to something closer to what the world needs once I finish my PhD. I can’t wait!
Great post, Jamie. Thank you. Perhaps having a well-made online course on EAA would be helpful for bottleneck (1). It could be a go-to resource for new employees and volunteers at EAA organisations and be helpful for activist to get an eye for effectiveness.
Downsides are that it would take quite some time to make.
I would be moderately interested in getting involved with the creation of this if it’s thought to be a worthwhile project. Udemy is the first platform that springs to mind for this.