I’ve read this. I interpret them as saying there are fundamental problems of uncertainty with saying any number, not that the number $5000 is wrong. There is a complicated and meta-uncertain probability distribution with its peak at $5000. This seems like the same thing we mean by many other estimates, like “Biden has a 40% chance of winning the Democratic primary”. GiveWell is being unusually diligent in discussing the ways their number is uncertain and meta-uncertain, but it would be wrong (isolated demand for rigor) to retreat from a best estimate to total ignorance because of this.
OK but
(1) what about the fact that to a large extent they’re not actually talking about saving lives if you look into the details of the cost-effectiveness estimate?
(2) GiveWell’s analysis does not account for the kind of publication bias end users of GiveWell’s recommendations should expect, so yes this does analytically imply that we should adjust the $5k substantially downwards based on some kind of model of what kinds of effectiveness claims get promoted to our attention.
I’ve read this. I interpret them as saying there are fundamental problems of uncertainty with saying any number, not that the number $5000 is wrong. There is a complicated and meta-uncertain probability distribution with its peak at $5000. This seems like the same thing we mean by many other estimates, like “Biden has a 40% chance of winning the Democratic primary”. GiveWell is being unusually diligent in discussing the ways their number is uncertain and meta-uncertain, but it would be wrong (isolated demand for rigor) to retreat from a best estimate to total ignorance because of this.
OK but (1) what about the fact that to a large extent they’re not actually talking about saving lives if you look into the details of the cost-effectiveness estimate? (2) GiveWell’s analysis does not account for the kind of publication bias end users of GiveWell’s recommendations should expect, so yes this does analytically imply that we should adjust the $5k substantially downwards based on some kind of model of what kinds of effectiveness claims get promoted to our attention.