aime15

Donated $50.

How?

I suspect my model of the method used to allocate government funding may be oversimplified/incorrect altogether, but I am under the impression that those serving on the House Science Committee have a significant say in where funds are allocated for scientific research. Given that some members of this committee do not believe in evolution and do not believe in man-made climate change, it seems that the potential social good of becoming a successful politician could be very high.

Politicians have a lot of power in society. How much good could a politician well-acquainted with x-risk do? One way such a politician could do good is by helping direct funds to MIRI. However, this is something an individual with a lot of money (successful in Silicon Valley or on Wall Street) could do as well.

Should one who wants to make a large positive impact on society go into politics over more "conventional" methods of effective altruism (becoming rich somewhere else or working for a high-impact organization)?

I'd suggest putting the least focus on economics unless/until you're sure you want to do something with it.

Thanks. I'll be at an engineering school that requires a focus in a social science/humanities area, so I'm planning on focusing on economics. I don't think I'd major in economics but of course this could change (especially since I know very little about the fields I mentioned).