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

<p> Cross-posted from my blog.</p><p> 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.</p><p> 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 [...]</p> <p>---</p><p><strong>Outline:</strong></p><p>(01:19) You are only ever making small dents in important problems</p><p>(03:06) The man who failed to fully solve a genocide</p><p>(06:29) Saving starfish</p><p>(07:40) Big problems are actually solved piece by piece</p> <p><i>The original text contained 2 footnotes which were omitted from this narration.</i> </p><p>---</p> <p><b>First published:</b><br/> March 19th, 2025 </p> <p><b>Source:</b><br/> <a href="https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/ZKfFoo8ttD9NEpKHv/you-probably-won-t-solve-malaria-or-x-risk-and-that-s-ok?utm_source=TYPE_III_AUDIO&utm_medium=Podcast&utm_content=Source+URL+in+episode+description&utm_campaign=ai_narration" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/ZKfFoo8ttD9NEpKHv/you-probably-won-t-solve-malaria-or-x-risk-and-that-s-ok</a> </p> <p>---</p> <p>Narrated by <a href="https://type3.audio/?utm_source=TYPE_III_AUDIO&utm_medium=Podcast&utm_content=Narrated+by+TYPE+III+AUDIO&utm_term=ea_forum&utm_campaign=ai_narration" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">TYPE III AUDIO</a>.</p> <p>---</p><div style="max-width: 100%";><p><strong>Images from the article:</strong></p><a href="https://res.cloudinary.com/cea/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/mirroredImages/ZKfFoo8ttD9NEpKHv/qefd9awdgpboweim9dye" target="_blank"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/cea/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/mirroredImages/ZKfFoo8ttD9NEpKHv/qefd9awdgpboweim9dye" alt="undefined" style="max-width: 100%;" /></a><p><em>Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try <a href="https://pocketcasts.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">Pocket Casts</a>, or another podcast app.</em></p></div>