Could systemic change be catalyzed by effective altruism?
Dear Prof. Peter Singer, I would like to convey my utmost gratitude for your extraordinary efforts related to the relief of animal cruelty and poverty. I applaud the approach of programs like Give what we can because I think every dollar spent on things like malaria prevention, de-worming, girl’s education or clean drinking water as …
Bubbles
During the last days of a year that was filled with the perceived horrors of the untimely death of several celebrity actors and popstars, as well as the real horror of the destruction of Aleppo, I want to sit back and reflect. A word that illustrates our quick march towards unadulterated cynicism that characterized the …
envy is not a sin
before you got published, you were jealous of someone who did when you got published, you were jealous of someone who got a second print when you got a second print, you were jealous of someone who sold 100,000 copies when you sold 100,000 copies, you were jealous of someone who won the Booker Prize …
In defence of the basic income
There are some very good arguments for the basic income, eloquently summed up in numerous articles such as this piece in the Guardian. Personally, I feel good about the idea of a basic income. After a decade of open-source writing, I wouldn’t want to change my habit. Whatever is really meaningful, we share diligently, enthusiastically …
Fearless
Dear Miru, There lives an intuition in me that wants you to be fearless. I know that fear has a vital function, but it only works when you experience it against the background of fearlessness. When your mind is troubled by unprocessed phobias, the fear that might have saved you will become useless and irrational. …
