{"items": [{"author": "Evan", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/625221079822?comment_id=625225291382", "anchor": "fb-625225291382", "service": "fb", "text": "The problem with that heuristic is that other people will generally be much less effective than you at achieving your goals, due to their goals being different.", "timestamp": "1377142585"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/625221079822?comment_id=625226329302", "anchor": "fb-625226329302", "service": "fb", "text": "@Evan: Right. I deal with this by imaging someone with broadly the same altruistic goals as me.", "timestamp": "1377143059"}, {"author": "Ryan", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/625221079822?comment_id=625234293342", "anchor": "fb-625234293342", "service": "fb", "text": "So have you been to oxford before? based on what I have seen of your online presence, I will pay at least $100 to you to incentivise you to travel to oxford. This is a good buy considering it should make you more informed and committed...", "timestamp": "1377148638"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/625221079822?comment_id=625244418052", "anchor": "fb-625244418052", "service": "fb", "text": "@Ryan: I'm going to be in England in 2014-07 for my sister's wedding; I was thinking of visiting Oxford then.", "timestamp": "1377171009"}, {"author": "Satvik", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/625221079822?comment_id=625245555772", "anchor": "fb-625245555772", "service": "fb", "text": "The problem I have with this heuristic is that it tends towards median outcomes instead of mean outcomes.
Take the laptop example. Most people won't see a significant boost in productivity with a slightly better laptop, they'll just spend more time looking at cat pictures. Occasionally some people will see a major boost, because the added speed helps them not lose focus, or they really are running code that takes a long time to run, etc.
The median improvement might be 0%, but the mean might be 10%. And when it comes to increasing income and donations you should look at mean improvements, especially if you are young and have many productive years ahead of you.
That said, this heuristic is still *way* better than trying to make each decision individually. Thanks for sharing!", "timestamp": "1377172333"}, {"author": "Jonathan", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/625221079822?comment_id=625249902062", "anchor": "fb-625249902062", "service": "fb", "text": "Both Cambridge and Oxford are worth visiting, and scour your social networks to find someone in school at oxford when you are there who can take you into the private colleges and show you around. I highly recommend doing that.", "timestamp": "1377177046"}, {"author": "Ryan", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/625221079822?comment_id=625258983862", "anchor": "fb-625258983862", "service": "fb", "text": "You mean the 7th month of 2014, right? Sounds great!", "timestamp": "1377182012"}, {"author": "Raymond", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/625221079822?comment_id=625260216392", "anchor": "fb-625260216392", "service": "fb", "text": "Satvik Beri, I think the point was \"would you spend money for someone else fairly similar to you to do this?\" Like, if there was another Effective Altruist you trusted but wasn't especially close friends with, would you pay for them to go to Oxford?", "timestamp": "1377182814"}, {"author": "Jonathan", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/625221079822?comment_id=625271628522", "anchor": "fb-625271628522", "service": "fb", "text": "I know a guy at Oxford. Talk to me if you want to be put in touch.", "timestamp": "1377191268"}, {"author": "Pablo", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/625221079822?comment_id=727707516182", "anchor": "fb-727707516182", "service": "fb", "text": ">This isn't new, but I don't remember where I got it.
Maybe from this:
\"a good test of whether buying yourself a subscription to cryonics is justified on altruistic grounds is whether there are other altruists willing to pay for that subscription. So instead of asking folks here what they think about this question, you may want to try to persuade them that you deserve to be cryopreserved at their expense.\"
https://www.facebook.com/.../permalink/529756193747409/...", "timestamp": "1432170010"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/625221079822?comment_id=727733104902", "anchor": "fb-727733104902", "service": "fb", "text": "@Pablo: That does seem likely; your comment there is about a month before I posted this. Thanks! It's a useful approach!", "timestamp": "1432175565"}, {"author": "Tom", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/625221079822?comment_id=728134635232", "anchor": "fb-728134635232", "service": "fb", "text": "Recently put to the test: https://www.facebook.com/groups/effective.altruists/permalink/871971642859194/", "timestamp": "1432245607"}]}