Wyatt S.

• Wyatt S. 29 Jan 2026 17:01 UTC

  1 point

  0 ∶ 0

  on: Pro­pose a de­bate topic—I’ll run one

  “Political Polarization and Gridlock is the biggest threat to steering humanity towards a good future.”

• Wyatt S. 11 Nov 2025 16:05 UTC

  5 points

  2 ∶ 0

  on: Cause prio cruxes in 2026?

  Here are some cruxes that I don’t see addressed as much:

  If there is a future with sentient beings living in it, are their lives, on average, likely to be net positive or net negative?

  This weighs over all existential risk cause areas. If preventing existential risk is possible, but the future is net-negative, then this intervention may be harmful, due to increasing s-risks.

  How much will the governance of developed countries influence the governance of underdeveloped countries?

  A country that does not value net welfare at all but instead dominance and power can transfer its values to the rest of the world through popular media and economic dependency. If this happens, it could lead to a future where coordination on issues becomes difficult, if not impossible.

• Wyatt S. 1 Nov 2025 15:23 UTC

  1 point

  0 ∶ 0

  in reply to: Christoph Hartmann 🔸’s comment on: You should prob­a­bly track your time (and it just got eas­ier)

  I don’t know how to use a parameter on a file, or how to execute it. How do I do that?

• Wyatt S. 28 Oct 2025 2:21 UTC

  1 point

  0 ∶ 0

  on: You should prob­a­bly track your time (and it just got eas­ier)

  It says that it is downloadable on Linux, but I just started using it. Are there clearer instructions on what buttons to press/​what words to put into the terminal?

• Wyatt S. 19 Oct 2025 17:22 UTC

  1 point

  0 ∶ 0

  in reply to: barkbellowroar’s comment on: EA needs or­ganic op­tics, not ‘no’ op­tics (hol­ly­wood is com­ing for us)

  What would “stalling the film” look like? And how would you avoid drawing more attention to the film by doing so?

• Wyatt S. 17 Oct 2025 20:39 UTC

  3 points

  0 ∶ 0

  in reply to: barkbellowroar’s comment on: EA needs or­ganic op­tics, not ‘no’ op­tics (hol­ly­wood is com­ing for us)

  I’m sorry if I came off too harsh with my comment, if you were referring to me. How could I have phrased my points better?

• Wyatt S. 17 Oct 2025 19:55 UTC

  1 point

  0 ∶ 0

  in reply to: barkbellowroar’s comment on: EA needs or­ganic op­tics, not ‘no’ op­tics (hol­ly­wood is com­ing for us)

  Just to clarify, by “Sam” do you mean Altman or Bankman-Fried?

• Wyatt S. 17 Oct 2025 16:00 UTC

  7 points

  3 ∶ 0

  on: EA needs or­ganic op­tics, not ‘no’ op­tics (hol­ly­wood is com­ing for us)

  Threatening and banning critical pieces isn’t what good people do; it’s what groups like the Church of Scientology do. The goal isn’t to censor criticism, but to create a positive counter-narrative. Or more realistically, a populist narrative with “Big Tech” as the antagonist.

• Wyatt S. 13 Oct 2025 23:06 UTC

  3 points

  0 ∶ 0

  in reply to: Benevolent_Rain’s comment on: Poll: Have your views on mov­ing abroad changed in the last 12–24 months?

  a. Probably Canada or Australia/​NZ.

  b. Lack of ability to do good in authoritarian/​anti-science (in particular related to vaccinations and medicine) regimes is the first factor. The second factor is questioning/​fluctuating gender identity, which may cause me to be targeted.

  Additional Notes: I think I started making serious efforts around June 2024, but I thought the authoritarianism would be seriously limited, so for the sake of my mental health, I decided not to transfer colleges. So far, it seems like most tell-tale signs of authoritarianism (threats to invade countries, kidnappings off the streets) have come to pass. So I am now trying to move again, hopefully by this winter or spring.

• Wyatt S. 3 Oct 2025 15:07 UTC

  7 points

  0 ∶ 0

  on: What posts are you think­ing about writ­ing?

  I’d like to make a post about gruntworkers, people who do low-expertise but essential and non-replacable work. For example, an unpaid volunteer position, that requires general skills like planning, fundraising, outreach, etc.

  How political groups aren’t “causes”, but networks of trust with different causes inside them.

  False dichotomies and tradeoffs and their relevance to cause area reasoning.

  Why many altruistic causes with different theories spiral into pessimism.

• Wyatt S. 3 Oct 2025 3:38 UTC

  3 points

  1 ∶ 0

  on: Ome­las Is Perfectly Misread

  Both could be somewhat correct.

  The true reading could be: “Utilitarianism is flawed because false dichotomies are often used to justify unnecessary suffering.”

  Not that I completely agree with that reading.

• Wyatt S. 19 Sep 2025 16:23 UTC

  1 point

  0 ∶ 0

  on: Price-, taste-, and con­ve­nience-com­pet­i­tive plant-based meat analogues would not cur­rently re­place the ma­jor­ity of meat con­sump­tion: A nar­ra­tive re­view [Now peer-re­viewed]

  I’m confused. Shouldn’t the citation say 2025 instead of 2026?

• Wyatt S. 12 Apr 2025 15:58 UTC

  1 point

  0 ∶ 0

  on: Should There Be In­sect Farm­ing In The UK? (Dead­line April 1st)

  Is this only for people in the UK, or should people from other countries fill it out too?

  Edit: I saw the deadline passed already. Still, this question may be relevant to other posts.

• Wyatt S. 25 Feb 2025 1:35 UTC

  12 points

  2 ∶ 1

  on: The Big Slurp could eat the Boltz­mann brains

  This is an interesting idea. One unstated assumption I don’t agree with is the assumption that Boltzmann brains would experience more negative experiences than positive ones. In order to justify destroying the possibility of something existing, one would need to prove it would experience negative experiences that outweigh the positive experiences. Human brains experience pain more intensely than pleasure because they are adapted for an environment which harshly punishes mistakes. Boltzmann brains would form randomly, so their pleasure to pain balance would be random, thus making it about an even ratio. In that case, we have no idea what the net effect would be.

• Wyatt S. 7 Feb 2025 17:05 UTC

  1 point

  0 ∶ 0

  in reply to: Ian Turner’s comment on: Im­pli­ca­tions of USAID freeze on donations

  There are other interventions that would be worth considering, like electoral reform. For example, there were ranked-choice voting ballot initiatives in several states, and that kind of reform has comparatively few direct workers. While those interventions are funded, they are not as heavily funded as direct electoral campaigning. Other alternatives like STAR voting or quadratic voting that could have a bigger payoff could be more neglected.

• Wyatt S. 7 Feb 2025 16:55 UTC

  1 point

  0 ∶ 0

  on: EAG Bay Area: We want more at­ten­dees! Ap­ply by Feb. 9

  I would like to attend, but I have too much schoolwork and would have trouble catching up. A summer conference would be more accessible for me as a college student.

• Wyatt S. 14 Jan 2025 19:05 UTC

  3 points

  1 ∶ 0

  on: [Fic­tion] [Comic] Effec­tive Altru­ism and Ra­tion­al­ity meet at a Sec­u­lar Sols­tice afterparty

  “I’m not good at being happy” was something I relate to and have thought before.

• Wyatt S. 4 Dec 2024 17:44 UTC

  1 point

  0 ∶ 0

  on: What is the ad­mis­sions bar for EA Global?

  Where do I apply for the East Coast Convention specifically?

• Wyatt S. 24 Nov 2024 2:05 UTC

  6 points

  1 ∶ 3

  on: Wy­att S.’s Quick takes

  For American EAs who are LGBT/​queer: I think we should begin having discussions about how the Trump administration will affect us (non-queer people would also be allowed to participate), and whether we want to leave or stay, as well as where we want to go to. I think there are factors to take into account (like impact, community, and career potential) that would be better for an EA-focused group to look at. It would also be nice to have a group that is shielded from the fearmongering of the general public. I might make a larger post or start a Groupchat for this, so if you are or know anyone who would be interested, you can comment or message me about it and we can get in touch. (I need to get my life priorities in order, so I will not be doing this now.) Personally, I will not yet be leaving the United States, but I want to be ready to leave if things get dangerous enough. I wouldn’t normally post something this politically divisive, but the possible urgency and threat posed to people needs to be assessed seriously.

Wy­att S.’s Quick takes