Hi! I joined the forum recently, and wanted to introduce myself.
I am a Bachelor's student in Computer Science and Economics in the Eastern US. Throughout the years, I attempted to introduce effective altruism to my friends and classmates - when appropriate. The concept seemed to resonate especially well with students in engineering and finance, but ultimately the efforts rarely resulted in concrete changes.
That problem got irreversibly stuck in my mind: Why do these people, who are both good and can intellectually see the net benefits of EA, find it difficult to engage with? Was it because we are students and stereotypically dislike spending any amount of money?
From what those people have done and said, the problem might lie in the perceived inaccessibility of EA (for example, the added research step of ensuring effective use of donations discouraged many from taking action) and/or perceived emotional distance of the results (for example, using evidence and logic to discard some altruistic missions in favor of others may have taken away from the emotional component of altruism, which seems to be the more traditional aspect) .
I don't know why EA is not more prevalent or 'easy' to get into. I think it should be. But maybe it was my approach that was faulty; I have a lot to learn. So, I am here to learn more and do better, effectively.
Hi! I joined the forum recently, and wanted to introduce myself.
I am a Bachelor's student in Computer Science and Economics in the Eastern US. Throughout the years, I attempted to introduce effective altruism to my friends and classmates - when appropriate. The concept seemed to resonate especially well with students in engineering and finance, but ultimately the efforts rarely resulted in concrete changes.
That problem got irreversibly stuck in my mind: Why do these people, who are both good and can intellectually see the net benefits of EA, find it difficult to engage with? Was it because we are students and stereotypically dislike spending any amount of money?
From what those people have done and said, the problem might lie in the perceived inaccessibility of EA (for example, the added research step of ensuring effective use of donations discouraged many from taking action) and/or perceived emotional distance of the results (for example, using evidence and logic to discard some altruistic missions in favor of others may have taken away from the emotional component of altruism, which seems to be the more traditional aspect) .
I don't know why EA is not more prevalent or 'easy' to get into. I think it should be. But maybe it was my approach that was faulty; I have a lot to learn. So, I am here to learn more and do better, effectively.