“You probably won’t solve malaria or x-risk, and that’s ok” by Rory Fenton

Cross-posted from my blog.

Contrary to my carefully crafted brand as a weak nerd, I go to a local CrossFit gym a few times a week. Every year, the gym raises funds for a scholarship for teens from lower-income families to attend their summer camp program. I don’t know how many Crossfit-interested low-income teens there are in my small town, but I’ll guess there are perhaps 2 of them who would benefit from the scholarship. After all, CrossFit is pretty niche, and the town is small.

Helping youngsters get swole in the Pacific Northwest is not exactly as cost-effective as preventing malaria in Malawi. But I notice I feel drawn to supporting the scholarship anyway. Every time it pops in my head I think, “My money could fully solve this problem”. The camp only costs a few hundred dollars per kid and if there are just 2 kids who [...]

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Outline:

(01:19) You are only ever making small dents in important problems

(03:06) The man who failed to fully solve a genocide

(06:29) Saving starfish

(07:40) Big problems are actually solved piece by piece

The original text contained 2 footnotes which were omitted from this narration.

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First published:
March 19th, 2025

Source:
https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/ZKfFoo8ttD9NEpKHv/you-probably-won-t-solve-malaria-or-x-risk-and-that-s-ok

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

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