All of Dvir Caspi's Comments + Replies

Very well put, thanks. 
I feel that starting with "epistemic status" has [some!] similar aspects to p(doom). It's a lot of fun for us but beginning an argument in real life with "Epistemic Status" loses in a split second. 

I am so excited to read this summary and these results! Thank you and everyone involved for bringing and sharing the gift of group therapy with EA.  

Thank you to everyone involved! 

I listened to this post  through the Non-Linear Library yesterday, thanks for writing this.
I think this post misses several things - (sorry if you already addressed some of these and I missed it).  

1. Most people struggle to "think big" (related: Scope Insensitivity). It is hard and unintuitive to fathom that Charity X could be three orders of magnitude more effective than Charity Y. 

2. Most people want practical certainty. Cultivated meat could be huge for the world. But it is still very uncertain whether this could be affordable in the for... (read more)

As someone who has been deeply into community building for years (most of it outside EA), I am biting my lip yet upvoting this.  I deeply agree that "Being an EA" as an identity has problematic implications, to say the least.  While I have many thoughts, for now I'll just highlight what you wrote which for me is the most important: "[we should be] convincing individuals to consider the ideas, not to “join EA.”". 

Much appreciation and respect for Inga, Emily and everyone involved behind the scences. Thank you so much for doing this and helping the community process and grow from this. 

I appreciate the post (even though I have no idea what Lawful Good / Neutral means etc. haha). 
I think it is a good time to remind ourselves that EAs in general (including myself) have a tendency for over-responsibility. And feeling responsible for things which are broader than our scope makes us feel bad... I like the plumber example and the Sequoia Capital example.  If the big VC got fooled, how can I not get fooled? And the plumber rightfully deserves money for his sweat, even if this money is dirty. The plumber did not know this in advance.  
 

I think this is a very valuable comment. 
As someone who loves sports, the main reason we have such incredible talent is due to the players desire to replace each other all the time. Every minute they compete, another player must sit on the bench. Their desire is so deep, that we end up with extremely talented leagues,  which makes it so fun to watch. An "I want to be replaced" mindset might not motivate them to wake up at 6:00 to hit the gym. But what is true for professional athletes is also true for us. We also "hit the gym", all the time. To o... (read more)

Hi, Marius. 
If, while writing this post, you had wished that it would deeply influence even one reader – congrats. 
After listening to this post about three times through the Non-Linear Library, and reading it another couple times here, “I want to be replaced” has been on my mind since. 

After a couple months of deliberation, I am finally ready to provide my ten-cent commentary. It will be mostly around the “By a better partner” and “By a better employee” sections. 

First and foremost, I will explain why this has been so influential for me... (read more)

Regarding neurological measurements - there is actually really significant fMRI work which demonstrates lack of empathy and fearlessness. I would recommend reading some of the work by Prof. Abigail Marsh  

This post inspired me a lot... Thank you. 

Best of Luck!!  

Aaron, any update on this? 

I cannot put into word how deeply I appreciate your work. Thank you and everyone involved.  
p.s love the logo.

Good idea, added this point to the pitch.  :) 

Well done!! 

I would absolutely love if you will post these results to our FB group Psychologists for Effective Altruism. (Please Join!)  

Have you tried publishing your results to Mental Health Innovation Network? It is a fantastic organization and they try to promote such novel interventions. 

And I'm sure that if your N was a bit bigger you would have reached the statistical significance that would show that BROAD is superior to the Light Box!! 

Hey guys, took some time to revise my post - clarifying bullets, adding a few examples, and most importantly - making a true "elevator pitch" section before my elaboration. 

nevermind, all work! thanks! 

The first link doesn't work - says I'm not authorized to view. 

All I have to say is that I'm  a huge fan. Thank you and please keep us updated!  

Hats off to you guys, well done! 

I read now, well.. it's a pretty cynical post. While there are obviously those books that give you false magical hopes for instant relief, and it's fun to joke about them, I am not a fan of the cynical tone. Some people say cynicism is the opposite of hope, and I kinda agree. While it's good to criticize, Mental health and health in general are supposed to be  fields of hope. Obviously not false hope, but there are objective and subjective reasons for hope in treatment. 
However, there are still some important points in the post which I am definitely noting down.  

That's a great perspective, appreciate it!! Inspires me.
Tiny side note - clinical psychologist not psychiatrist (psychiatrists are also in mental health, but are medical doctors, and can prescribe medications). 

Thank you for your comment. I would like to address your first point. While gov. funds do need a political push,  and that societal change is trickier than thought, general innovation in Mental Health that could benefit society does not require any grand political change or push. There is meaningful innovation already both in non-profit and for-profit sectors. And your example of Gates' funds that if he tries to directly fund health in general he will run out of money, it's obviously true. But that doesn't mean that careful capital couldn't be allocated to promising health innovations for-profit and non-profit, similarly to many other fields.  

Thank you, I will definitely definitely read. 

Hi Uri, thanks for your reply. :) 
While Mental Health is neglected in terms of government funds, it is not neglected at all in terms of the number of people who are interested in this field. Many are. So by this criteria it doesn't line up with the EA mindset.  
Regarding the highly solvable or tractable, I think this is very challenging to evaluate.. But this could and should be a further discussion.
Regarding the Happier Lives Institute, I have read some of their posts and reports, but admit that I am not familiar enough.  Mental Health Innovation Network is also a great organization in this space.