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Bruno_Coelho comments on What are your questions about making a difference? - Less Wrong Discussion

26 Post author: Benjamin_Todd 12 August 2012 11:14PM

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Comment author: Bruno_Coelho 14 August 2012 02:00:35AM 4 points [-]

Whats is the main difference of the traditional NGOs?

I've seen this movement and assume these people have some different method to overcome problems like poverty, diseade, altruistic-wharever.

It's all about donating? Or are some plans have direct actions, activism?

Comment author: Benjamin_Todd 16 August 2012 08:12:08PM 3 points [-]

It's not all about donating. What's different about us is that we really try to weigh up different career options in terms of how much difference they make. We understand 'making a difference' to mean 'making good stuff happen that wouldn't have happened otherwise.' So, we wouldn't just recommend working for a traditional NGO if someone was going to do that job equally well if you didn't take it. Or if it didn't seem to be particularly cost-effective. In carrying this out, we take an evidence-based approach, paying attention to heuristics and biases. We'd apply this to any career path. This is really different from normal careers guidance. More here. We're not, however, proposing new ways to end poverty. We're more about helping people choose within what's already out there.