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This post is co-authored with Ben Garfinkel. It is cross-posted from the CEA blog. A PDF version can be found here.
Summary: Some strategic decisions available to the effective altruism m...
Disclaimer: Although I work on the Groups Team at CEA, I’m writing this in a personal capacity, and this post does not constitute an endorsement by CEA.
Agency - the realisation that you really can just do things.
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Biosecurity needs people (of any background) who are agentic and have a high execution velocity and track record....
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Recent opportunities to take action
Thinking back to my first big (well, big for me) donation and an unusual series of thoughts I had. Sharing in case anyone has experienced the same.
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I've practiced frugality to a significant extent, largely because I want to donate/salary sacrifice so much of my income to effective charities. As a result, whenever I'm spending a significant amount of money on anything, alarm bells go off.
I was surprised that alarm bells went off when donating. I had thought through where I donated extensively, and charity was the reason why I wanted to save money in the first place. But I still felt stressed because I was "spending money."
This is such a clear example of missing the forest for the trees. I think we need to be careful about instrumental values/rules and making sure they don't become absolute limitations that decrease overall impact.
Is it a sticker shock reaction developed from years of reflexively minimizing outflows? Donating more frequently in smaller amounts might help. Feels less irreversible.
Without getting into the specifics, this donation opportunity only made sense above a certain level.
I did donate, and I'm glad I did, but I think it's valuable to note the inconsistencies of human psychology that appear even in communities that pride themselves on rationality.