Altruism and the good life
I'm writing in a new space! https://juliawise.net/ The main topics are effective altruism and parenting. I'm hoping to explore how EAs balance pursuing big goals and other parts of their lives. I always intended Giving Gladly to have material that's accessible to people first getting interested in effective giving and effective altruism, but these days most of my thoughts on these are about people…
Before we had kids, Jeff and I fostered a couple of cats. One had feline AIDS and was very skinny. Despite our frugal grocery budget of the time, I put olive oil on her food, determined to get her healthier. I knew that stray cats were not a top global priority, and that this wasn’t even the best way of helping stray cats, but it was what I wanted to do. . . . . . The bike path near where I live…
When people come to an effective altruism event for the first time, the conversation often turns to projects they’re pursuing or charities they donate to. They often have a sense of nervousness around this, a feeling that the harsh light of cost-effectiveness is about to be turned on everything they do. To be fair, this is a reasonable thing to be apprehensive about, because many youngish people…
I’m late to the party, but I've been thinking about the documentary “ The Life Equation ” about how people use data to decide make life-and-death decisions. The central example is a woman named Crecencia, a mother of seven who lives in rural Guatemala and has cervical cancer. The doctor treating her knows that screening other women for cancer is more cost-effective than treating this woman, and…
Here are three places Jeff and I are donating this year. The first two are similar to what we’ve been doing for years, and the third represents a change. Direct work Jeff and I want to support work that directly makes the world a better place. (Some arguments against falling into a “meta trap” here .) As usual for us, this year we’ve given just over half our donations to direct work. We made these…
Last week the Boston Effective Altruism group had a discussion on self-care for altruists. I've written about the topic before , but I wanted to share some of the more practical advice people had. Think beyond day-to-day choices Self-care isn’t just short-term decisions like whether to make time for yoga tonight. It’s larger life decisions too, like what job to take, where to live, how to budget…
Almost four years ago, I pledged with Giving What We Can . Members pledge 10% of their incomes to the best charities they can find (with students and those with no income pledging 1% of their spending money). In the time since, I've felt good about making this commitment. I like having it as part of my routine, something that I know is part of my plan in the years to come. It's a confirmation of…
People interested in effective altruism come from many different backgrounds. I know people whose families expected them to become lawyers or businesspeople, and others whose families would be appalled if they went into something so "money-grubbing." This post is primarily aimed at those of us who grew up in cultures that emphasized a certain style of simplicity. In some cases I think it can be an…
I think effective altruism often runs into questions about self-care and boundaries, and might have a few things to learn from social work. For people in helping professions (like nurses, therapists, and clergy), training programs often warn against burnout and " compassion fatigue ." To prevent this, training emphasizes self-care. Self-care might include exercise, sleep, spending time with loved…
This post focuses specifically on food ideas. For more on how to host an effective altruism meetup, see here or here . After four years of hosting effective altruism dinners, I keep learning things. At least where I live, EA gatherings tend to attract a lot of vegetarians and vegans. I've basically stopped serving meat at these dinners because so few people ate it. People, particularly students,…
Seeing stories about the horrifying conditions Syrian refugees face, I’m thinking once again about how lucky I am to have been born in this country. As a social worker, some of the clients I work with are immigration detainees waiting to find out if they will be deported. The descriptions they give of their journeys to this country are harrowing. “I spent three days walking through the mountains.…
I'm excited to be starting some new things: In June I joined the board of GiveWell . I'm joining the Center for Effective Altruism's Outreach team. I've wanted to work for them for years, and I'm so glad it became possible without moving to another country! I'll still be doing some social work part-time.
A lot of people, myself included, have felt conflicted about the choice between doing direct work (like health interventions) and trying to change systems. Everyone agrees that well-done policy work can have big impacts, but there's less agreement about how to tell if your work is actually good at changing policy. At the EA Global conference in California, I was excited to hear more about three EA…
Greetings from the Effective Altruism Global Conference in California! I just got a copy of Will MacAskill's new book about effective altruism, Doing Good Better . I haven't finished it yet, but I'm finding it enjoyable, with sound advice on career choice, what kinds of causes can do most with your donation, and other steps you can take. You should get a copy! Even if you're already persuaded of…
Both advocates and critics of effective altruism like to contrast arts charities with public health charities. Peter Singer writes on art auctions: In a more ethical world, to spend tens of millions of dollars on works of art would be status-lowering, not status-enhancing. Such behavior would lead people to ask: “In a world in which more than six million children die each year because they lack…
I was excited to see Peter Singer's new book, The Most Good You Can Do . He's letting the internet decide to donate $10,000 of the royalties. Play the Giving Game to vote!
Sometimes people ask Jeff and me if we plan to raise our daughter in some special way as an effective altruist. The answer is “not really.” Some have asked if we consider her a sort of recruit, hoping that her future donations will outweigh the cost of raising her. The answer is “definitely not.” Of course, we hope that Lily will become a kind and generous person. (Currently she’s at the stage of…
This sprang out of the last post on how to talk to people about giving . If you're trying to persuade people, it's unclear how far to push things. I hope there are studies out there on the optimal approach, but I haven't seen them. John Woolman was an 18th-century American Quaker who was ardent about the abolition of slavery before abolitionism was really a thing. His friends found him kind of…
Recently someone asked me about much to talk about effective giving. Some thoughts: Blogging (or other forms of writing) are nice because reading is optional. If I write a blog post and link to it on Facebook, my Facebook friends can either choose to go read it or not. If they're not interested in the topic, it's not awkward in the same way that it could be in conversation. Because I'm not afraid…
I grew up hearing about Thomas Cannon, the "poor man's philanthropist" of my home town. He was a postal clerk known for leaving $1000 checks to strangers. Recently I received a book about him (thank you, David!) and have been enjoying reading about his life. After his death in 2005, the Washington Post wrote: He gave away more than $150,000 over the past 33 years, mostly in thousand-dollar checks,…
GiveWell's charity recommendations for 2014 are out! They are recommending: Against Malaria Foundation Deworm the World (through Evidence Action) Schistosomiasis Control Initiative Give Directly Giving What We Can recommends a similar list , with the substitution of Project Healthy Children rather than Give Directly. I think GiveWell's process is the most rigorous in the field of poverty (process…
(Edit: Xio points out that there's a more complete post about these resources on the EA forum.) Recently a friend and I were talking about hosting effective altruism meetups in our respective cities. If you're considering hosting a gathering for people to discuss effective altruism, how do you get started? First, find out who's already in your area. Here's a list of upcoming events , Giving What…
Let’s say I believe it would be good for my health to go running every day. But I quickly realize that I don’t want to run every day, and that realistically I’ll only run a few times a month. It’s embarrassing to think of myself as being inconsistent, so perhaps I decide that running isn't actually good for my health after all. In short, I come up with new beliefs to suit the action I was already…
Today I was talking with some undergraduates, and the topic of how to manage donations while in school came up. When you're taking on student loans, it can seem like a bad time to be giving money away. Reasons to donate now, even in small amounts: It keeps you in the habit of giving. There will always be a reason to delay — student loans, a mortgage, a child. If you're ever going to donate, you…
Recently I was at a talk given by Rachel Glennerster of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (JPAL). In speaking about cost-effectiveness, she gave examples from several different education interventions in Africa: 1) merit scholarships for girls 2) free primary school uniforms 3) providing information to parents on how schooling increases income 4) deworming through primary schools All the…