tobytrem

Karma: 2,085

Hello! I’m Toby. I’m Content Manager at CEA. I work with Lizka and the Online Team to make sure the Forum is a great place to discuss doing the most good we can. You’ll see me posting a lot, authoring the EA Newsletter and curating Forum Digests, making moderator comments and decisions, and more.

Before working at CEA, I studied Philosophy at the University of Warwick, and worked for a couple of years on a range of writing and editing projects within the EA space. Recently I helped run the Amplify Creative Grants program, to encourage more impactful podcasting and YouTube projects. You can find a bit of my own creative output on my blog, and my podcast feed.

tobytrem 3 May 2024 12:51 UTC
3 points
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on: Epoch AI is Hiring an Economics of AI Researcher
Thanks for posting this! In case you didn’t notice, you haven’t mentioned a deadline. (Wouldn’t have thought it weird if you hadn’t included the text “Please email careers@epochai.org if you have any questions about this role, accessibility requests, or if you want to request an extension to the deadline.”)

tobytrem 2 May 2024 15:50 UTC
2 points
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in reply to: Constance Li’s comment on: One week left to give feedback on the UK Mandatory Welfare Label Scheme
Thanks for letting me know about Ben and Haven’s doc!

tobytrem 2 May 2024 14:01 UTC
8 points
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in reply to: NickLaing’s comment on: On John Woolman (Thing of Things)
The book Strangers drowning is great and includes profiles of a bunch of these people. It’s ultimately fairly agnostic about whether they are doing the right thing (it emphasises the extreme upper end of altruists), but there are moments of inspiration in most of the stories for people committed to doing good.

tobytrem 1 May 2024 9:35 UTC
20 points
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on: One week left to give feedback on the UK Mandatory Welfare Label Scheme
Shout out to my Mum for filling in the form.

tobytrem 30 Apr 2024 16:43 UTC
20 points
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in reply to: SuperDuperForecasting’s comment on: Motivation gaps: Why so much EA criticism is hostile and lazy
We’re issuing SuperDuperForecasting a one-month ban for breaking strong Forum norms in several comments (1,2). Specifically:
- Intentionally misgendering someone (see more about how a moderator thinks about this here).
- Engaging in unnecessary rudeness and offensiveness.
To be clear, I’m not commenting on the more complex questions discussed elsewhere in the thread, such as whether or when it’s appropriate to speculate about someone’s psychology. But I do want to flag that mental illness is often stigmatised and we should probably be especially sensitive and compassionate when discussing it.
As a reminder, the ban affects the user, not the account. During their ban period, the user will not be permitted to rejoin the Forum under another account name. If they return to the Forum, we’ll expect a higher standard of norm-following.

You can reach out to forum-moderation@effectivealtruism.org with any questions. You can appeal the decision here.

tobytrem 29 Apr 2024 12:59 UTC
5 points
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on: Nothing new under the sun?
Very much empathise with this!

You might find this thread helpful for ideas of topics which people on the EA Forum would like to see, and haven’t seen somewhere else.

I’d also reiterate a theme which is in other answers: If something is worth saying, it’s worth saying more than once. And, even if you find another piece of writing which covers the same idea/ problem, your approach will definitely be different to theirs. You might not be best placed to know what is unique and insightful about your writing, so, if in doubt, leave it to the audience.

PS- this reminds me of a kind of analogous thing in music; when a band finds a really good riff, why don’t they just make 30 songs with it? I know some bands that have sort of done this, and authors sometimes do it when they create really good characters (with book series). But often musicians and authors don’t, perhaps because they want to be authentic, or keep moving forward. But who’s to say that that riff wouldn’t have been better in another song? And now we are locked into a path where it can’t be used in one. Let’s not do that with ideas.

tobytrem 26 Apr 2024 15:14 UTC
2 points
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on: Food for Thought event series
Love the conversation menus!

tobytrem 26 Apr 2024 10:48 UTC
2 points
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in reply to: Ian Turner’s comment on: Today is World Malaria Day (April 25)
Thanks! For a point of hope, R21 (the newer vaccine) apparently has “less strict” cold-chain requirements.

tobytrem 25 Apr 2024 8:49 UTC
9 points
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on: Today is World Malaria Day (April 25)
These questions came up as I read for this post, and I’d love to hear answers from more knowledgeable people:
- How will insecticide-resistant mosquitoes affect the populations protected by insecticide-treated malaria nets?
- How are the vaccine rollouts going? Are the vaccines showing the efficacy which pilot results suggested?

tobytrem 24 Apr 2024 12:32 UTC
16 points
6 ∶ 6
on: You probably want to donate any Manifold currency this week
Thanks for sharing this on the Forum!
If you (the reader) have donated your mana because of this post, I’d love it if you put a react on this comment.
What links here?
- OllieBase's comment on You probably want to donate any Manifold currency this week by Henri Thunberg (24 Apr 2024 12:44 UTC; 1 point)
- OllieBase's comment on You probably want to donate any Manifold currency this week by Henri Thunberg (24 Apr 2024 12:44 UTC; 1 point)

tobytrem 24 Apr 2024 12:32 UTC
2 points
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in reply to: harfe’s comment on: harfe’s Quick takes
Thanks for sharing this on the Forum!
If you (the reader) have donated your mana because of this quick take, I’d love it if you put a react on this comment.

tobytrem 24 Apr 2024 10:35 UTC
3 points
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in reply to: yanni kyriacos’s comment on: Yanni Kyriacos’s Shortform
If you predictably do this, you raise the odds that people around you will cook some/ buy some extra food so that it will be “thrown out”, or offer you food they haven’t quite finished (and that they’ll replace with a snack later.
So I’d recommend going with “Vegan” as your label, for practical as well as signalling reasons.

tobytrem 19 Apr 2024 13:05 UTC
3 points
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in reply to: Ale Grassini’s comment on: Introductions and questions thread: April—June 2024
Hi Ale, great to have you here!
Let me know (here or via DM) if you have any questions about the Forum, or want any content recommendations,
- Toby, Content Manager for the EA Forum.

tobytrem 19 Apr 2024 13:05 UTC
3 points
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in reply to: Leonora_Camner’s comment on: Introductions and questions thread: April—June 2024
Hi Leonora! Welcome to the Forum :)
Let me know (here or via DM) if you have any questions about the Forum, or want any content recommendations,
- Toby, Content Manager for the EA Forum.

tobytrem 19 Apr 2024 13:04 UTC
3 points
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in reply to: Caleb Zege’s comment on: Introductions and questions thread: April—June 2024
Welcome Caleb!
Let me know if you have any questions about using the Forum, on this thread or via DM.
- Toby, Content Manager for the EA Forum.

tobytrem 19 Apr 2024 13:03 UTC
3 points
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in reply to: ManikSharma’s comment on: Introductions and questions thread: April—June 2024
Hi Manik!
I’m glad you’re finding these ideas so valuable. Let me know (here or via DM) if you have any questions about the Forum, or want any content recommendations,
- Toby, Content Manager for the EA Forum.

tobytrem 19 Apr 2024 13:02 UTC
3 points
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in reply to: Anand J’s comment on: Introductions and questions thread: April—June 2024
Hi Anand,
Welcome to the Forum, I hope you find your time here valuable.
Let me know if you have any questions!
- Toby, Content Manager for the EA Forum.

tobytrem 3 Apr 2024 11:53 UTC
7 points
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in reply to: JasperGo’s comment on: JasperGo’s Quick takes
I can email you the original file, but only if you promise to use it for ~dastardly purposes.

tobytrem 3 Apr 2024 8:47 UTC
2 points
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in reply to: yanni kyriacos’s comment on: Yanni Kyriacos’s Shortform
Not a solution to everything mentioned here- but a reminder that you can click “customize feed” at the top of the page and remove all posts tagged april fools.

tobytrem 26 Mar 2024 17:23 UTC
2 points
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on: Podcast: Is Forecasting a Promising EA Cause Area?
I’m interested to listen but I can’t find the podcast on Spotify- am I missing something?