[Blog post] “Effective altruism in a nutshell” by Keiran Harris

Let’s say you’re planning to buy a new laptop — well, how do you choose that laptop?

You’re probably not going to pick randomly. And you’re probably not even going to choose the prettiest one either.

I’m guessing that you’ll put a bit of research into it. And that’s just common sense.

You’ll likely cross-reference a couple of different sources, try to find a laptop that’s endorsed by a few people you respect. Or maybe you go on a review site like Wirecutter to find what the reviewers consider the ‘best deal.’

You also might not even be married to the idea of getting a laptop at all — if the underlying thing you want to do is your work, maybe you should get a desktop and just use your phone when on the move.

At the end of the process, you would have hoped to get the outcome you really wanted, without spending too much time figuring it out.

But when it comes to doing good, most people don’t instinctively apply the same rigorous and practical mindset they do in other parts of their life. We’re more likely to volunteer our time at a place that’s easy to get to, give money to whichever charity knocks on our door, or focus on an issue just because it grabbed our attention when we were young.

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First published:
October 17th, 2021

Source:
https://80000hours.org/2021/10/effective-altruism-in-a-nutshell