Episode 074 - The Gates Keepers

I should again point out that this is not to say that EA has a ton of issues, which it does. But the fundamental idea behind it is that people should be more willing to give

No Name

Great critique of EA can be found here: https://www.economist.com/1843/2022/11/15/the-good-delusion-has-effective-altruism-broken-bad

No Name

I think you are misrepresenting effective altruism (EA) in this video. The concept here is doing the most good with your money. Just like investing you pick a stock that has high returns, in EA, you are picking organizations that have the greatest ability to save lives and generally that is supporting campaigns in Africa. So essentially bringing scientific rigor to donations. There are issues with this on its own (and part of the issue of Gates Foundation centers heavily on being data driven, which can be problematic and much too complicated to discuss in a single post)

No Name

I think that's a good approach. It's good entertainment but their numbers (especially those from our world in data) can't be trusted. It's a like a junk food of education, instead of being a nutrient rich fulfilling meal.

The Hated One

There doesn't really seem to be any other way to parse this data that you shared when being looked at collectively. As much as I've always enjoyed their videos, they always rubbed me the wrong way as if it was partially propaganda. I always treated them as closer to the entertainment side of the edutainment field, despite having a more education-heavy set of topics.

I think it's possible to like a piece of media and remain critical of some of its aspects. You can still enjoy the videos. I am criticizing their practice but I have nothing to say against their creativity.

The Hated One

To be clear, these are real scientists with solid credentials. They are intelligent people with merit, not some crooks who got into their position by licking the boot. I think it's just worth pointing out that scientist don't just do science. They also run and do business, have an agenda or serve one, and this one is a shocker - have opinions. Science is great but scientists need to be scrutinized just as much as anyone.

The Hated One

Great job revealing the ‘scientists’ on the payroll. Highlights the scrutiny we should give to anything we are presented in the media (media broadly, not just news).

I think you are right about the way that they are handling the disclosure of the money and the sources. On the other hand I wish you were wrong because I really like the way the explain topics. Great work and even if it makes me sad a bit I think it is better to think about. Thank you

N3w3SyS