4 ms·
(Disclaimer: not trolling.) Consider specializing in making money and donating the money to people who specialize in $PICK_A_CAUSE_DEAR_TO_YOU, if your primary
by patio11 10y ago
(Disclaimer: not trolling.)
Consider specializing in making money and donating the money to people who specialize in $PICK_A_CAUSE_DEAR_TO_YOU, if your primary concern is about impact and not about personal fulfillment. NGOs are often not well set up to metabolize the labor of developers, and at some things which you think are helpful will be perceived by the organization as a threat (e.g. at many organizations, anything which decreases the required headcount to operate attacks a primary reason for the organization to exist).
You're also unlikely to be an expert at $PICK_A_CAUSE_WHICH_IS_DEAR_TO_YOU for the same reason you're unlikely to be an expert at heart surgery or filing business taxes. Those strike me as important enough to be done by someone who knows what they're doing; your mileage may vary with respect to causes dear to you.
- carussell 10y agoMore in this vein: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effective_altruism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effective_altruism http://www.jefftk.com/news/giving http://www.jefftk.com/news/giving http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/handwritingwall http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/handwritingwall https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/32lnif/im_peter_singer_australian_moral_philosopher_and/ https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/32lnif/im_peter_singe...
- Mo3 10y agoThat was incredibly interesting. Thank you!
- janwillemb 10y agoAlthough "effective altruism" sounds reasonable and should always be considered, it does neglect the human side of things. How many years do we add to the life of a lonely elderly couple by visiting them?
- bonniemuffin 10y agoI think the point is that people with a surplus of money can be most effective by well-targeted monetary donations, while people with extra time should be spending it with the elderly. We can be collectively more effective with some specialization.
- janwillemb 10y agoThat's a good point
- visakanv 10y agoRelevant LessWrong article – Purchase Fuzzies and Utilons Separately: http://lesswrong.com/lw/6z/purchase_fuzzies_and_utilons_separately/ http://lesswrong.com/lw/6z/purchase_fuzzies_and_utilons_sepa... > There is this very, very old puzzle/observation in economics about the lawyer who spends an hour volunteering at the soup kitchen, instead of working an extra hour and donating the money to hire someone... > If the lawyer needs to work an hour at the soup kitchen to keep himself motivated and remind himself why he's doing what he's doing, that's fine. But he should also be donating some of the hours he worked at the office, because that is the power of professional specialization and it is how grownups really get things done. One might consider the check as buying the right to volunteer at the soup kitchen, or validating the time spent at the soup kitchen. I think about this a lot.
- freewill_ 10y agoThe donations of the highly successful are the reason many NPOs and relief foundations exist. With capitalism it seems to be "winner takes all" where there's a first (and maybe second) place price, but not much after that. This makes the benevolence of the wealthy just as important as government aid, and in my opinion, a responsibility or duty of the "winners".
- user5994461 10y agoDisagree with all of it. Money and time are not interchangeable at all. One can take 1-2 hours of his time, when he has time free. One cannot give 1-2 hours of money, when he has to pay for his rent, bills and family. There is noone who can decide to work one hour more at his workplace and get paid for it, then donate the money to charity.
- chrisatumd 10y ago> There is noone who can decide to work one hour more at his workplace and get paid for it, then donate the money to charity. There are plenty of people that can make this exact choice. I'll work extra hours on occasion when my job is willing to allow us overtime, but not requiring it. Admittedly it's generally my stove broke and I need X dollars to replace it, not me donating the money.