Not Forgotten

Generally speaking, people want to know they’ve made a difference in the world that will outlast themselves. Few occupations have the intense immediacy of potentially giving one’s life for the future of human flourishing than that of the solider. It’s an admirable profession that is worthy of respect, especially for those for whom this potential became reality. However, not many are suited for such work, not to mention ideally the need for soldiers will shrink as societies mature.

Thankfully there are myriad other ways in which a person can approach a career with the future in mind. Last week I read through a number of articles from 80,000 hours, and I have the book of the same name queued up as well. The premise is that our jobs take up a considerable fraction of our lives, likely more than any other activity, and thus it behooves us to think deeply of how to spend that time. That’s hardly controversial, but applying logical principles and data-backed guidance to maximize the future impact can be (similar to discussions around Effective Altruism).

Personally, I find the arguments compelling. It’s why I’ll spend the rest of my time as a technologist dedicated to work in the public sector, and especially in the space of tech and politics. When it comes to maximizing human flourishing, good public policy is critical, and with a shrinking world, the risk of bad policy existential.

Many have died to give those who remain the chance to build this better world. Honored to be among the latter group; don’t intend to let it go to waste.