Effective Altruism Denmark

13/10/2025

📊 History's First Data-Driven Life-Saver: John Snow

(this Jon Snow did know something! And more of a hero & legend than any dragon-riding bastard)

He was a pioneer whose work would later save countless lives through the power of data! John was a physician who revolutionized public health through data analysis during London's 1854 cholera outbreak:

When conventional wisdom blamed "miasma" (bad air) for cholera, Snow meticulously mapped cases around the West End of London, identifying a contaminated water pump as the source.His evidence-based approach established the foundation of modern epidemiology and germ theory.

Worth honoring these Pioneers that paved the way for us. **We are standing on the shoulders of thousands of human-sized giants**

12/10/2025

Your career is one of the most important decisions you make in your life.

If you could do something to improve the entire rest of your working life, wouldn’t you want to? WELL YOU CAN!

This interactive tool is a great way to start:
https://80000hours.org/career-planning/career-planning-tool/

This EA organization has spent 10+ years researching careers and finding best practices based on evidence and they have created some really helpful ressources. They have helped millions of people find jobs they love and have a much bigger impact. Which leads to saving lives. Thousands of them. That's not a number. That is a real human being who gets to live.

We recently read this lovely article that helps you freak out less about your career: https://www.laurenpolicy.com/p/career-advice-for-college-students?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Here are a few more ressources for career planning:
-https://80000hours.org/2023/01/the-quick-medium-and-long-versions-of-career-planning/
- https://80000hours.org/career-planning/summary/
- https://80000hours.org/career-guide/summary/

A free guide based on five years of research alongside academics at Oxford University.

11/10/2025

Stof til eftertanke..
80.000 Hours har forsket meget i, hvad det vil sige at have en god karriere og hvordan bedst gør en forskel med sin karriere.De bruger (ligesom mange i effective altruism bevægelseen) et simpelt og effektivt framework:
Scale - Neglectedness - Tractability
1) Scale: er det et stort problem du vil arbejde på?
2) Er det overset? Mangler der flere folk til at arbejde på det
3) kan det løses? Opnår vi faktisk at gøre noget godt ved at arbejde på problemet.

Med de 3 ting er du meget mere sikker på at være på den rette vej!

Vil du endnu mere, få karrierevejledning fra os gennem vores hjemmeside eller formularen herunder:
https://forms.gle/rX1p9BQ8RLBKv8yS8
https://effectivealtruism.dk/guidance/

https://youtu.be/1xsR0XBwyo4?si=SzdfmxEB1Gx9-Quc

09/10/2025

We have a new page (this one)!
There were admin issues with the other so we had to start again.. please go follow & share with your network.

ALSO! We do free career advising (reach out on our page) AND ---> We are doing intro courses on "how to change the world 101" (aka the EA intro fellowship)
we're running in Aalborg, Aarhus, Odense, and Copenhagen.

SIGN UP BY OCTOBER 12:

09/10/2025

How rich are you, really? (globally)

Are you part of the 90%?
70, 60, 40? Take a guess 😉
https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/how-rich-am-i

The fact is, we have very bad intuitions about this.We compare ourselves to those around us and in our country, but we don’t have a good sense of the difference between the poorest and the richest nations.

It is a simple human bias because our brains were not made for thinking about these kinds of scales.
In Effective Altruism there are a growing number of people who donate at least 10% of their income to the most effective charities.
For the average income in DK, that’s equal to running into a burning building and saving a life twice a year. Imagine that as a casual hobby..

Most people can donate 10% and feel no real impact on their economy, according to research - and WE CAN DO A LOT with 10% from the 1%
Watch the video from Giving What We Can here:
"You're richer than you realize"
https://youtu.be/ekIRVhbpiQw?si=raGsY-uwi2t8hA24

Sources:
https://www.dst.dk/da/Statistik/laer-om-statistik/gennemsnitsdanskeren
https://giveffektivt.dk/
https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/pledge

08/10/2025

*Scout mindset*

Imagine being a scout trying to draw a map of a territory. Well you are!
You have a model (map) of the world (Territory), that helps you understand and navigate it. Just like a normal scout, you want your map to be as accurate as possible, so you can best know how to navigate.

If you’re a truthseeker, you should *want* to update your map of the world if you find flaws(!!!) - It doesn’t matter what you feel identified with; what matters is having an accurate understanding of the world.

We often see in fx politics that people defend their beliefs and feel threatened by others changing them, because the are identified with them. And they're scared to be proven wrong.

It’s the difference between fixed mindset (“oh I was wrong, I’m stupid”) and growth mindset (“ah great, I learned something and now my map of the world is better!”)

Scout mindset is one of the key virtues in Effective Altruism. It helps us with clear thinking, and having a better map of the world. It is hard to do. But it is worth it.

Here’s a summary of the book + tedxtalk from Julia Galef who wrote it:
https://readingraphics.com/book-summary-the-scout-mindset/

https://youtu.be/w4RLfVxTGH4?si=243X_Z-5gWjZIiNO