Create a merit scholarship for the type of young talent that SI wants to attract – this can reveal valuable information about this group of people, and can potentially be used a targeted publicity tool if handled well.
Information that could be collected from applications
Basic personal details (age, location, contact methods, etc.)
Education (past and future)
Academic interests
Career goals
Awards and competition results
Third-party reviews (i.e., letters of recommendation)
Basic personality assessment (see previous LW discussion on correlates with Big Five personality traits: [1], [2], [3])
Ideas about and attitudes toward x-risks/FAI/SI/FHI (these could be responses to prompts – as a bonus, applicants are introduced to the content in the prompts)
… Pretty much anything else (personal anecdote: I’ve revealed things about myself in college and scholarship applications that I have never expressed to anyone else)
Uses of this information
Check whether SI is effectively reaching the right people with its current plans.
The compiled list of young talent could be directly used to advertise things like SPARC to the right people.
General survey tool.
Potential problems and difficulties
Its use as an information gathering tool could be seen negatively.
Legal issues?
Publicity. The scholarship has to be made known to the relevant people, and this has to be done in such a way that SI is seen as a reputable institute. However, a scholarship does open up new avenues for publicity.
Cost and manpower.
Is anyone else doing this?
As with many ideas, we ought to be cautious if we see no one else doing something similar. Indeed, I cannot think of any high school scholarship that is used primarily to collect information for the sponsoring organization (is this really the case?). However, there is good reason for this – no one else is interested in reaching the same group of high school students. SI is the only organization I know of who wants to reach high school students for their research group.
FHI had a competition that could be an attempt to collect information, but I’m not sure.
High school scholarships
It would be wise to consult current high school scholarships, and AoPS has a good list.
I like this. The fact that this sort of thing is done by so many organizations seems evidence that it’s a good way to reach young people. It might be wise to emphasize getting young folks to think about existential risks through an essay contest over gathering data about them.
see previous LW discussion on correlates with Big Five personality traits
The fact that this sort of thing is done by so many organizations seems evidence that it’s a good way to reach young people.
Hmm… I was thinking that no other organization does this, but I imagine that we mean different things by “this” – I suppose you are referring to the large number of organizations that sponsor a scholarship, as opposed to the lack of organizations that sponsor a scholarship with the specific goal of collecting information on high school students.
It might be wise to emphasize getting young folks to think about existential risks through an essay contest over gathering data about them.
Good point. The way this is publicized would be important – it might be worthwhile to consult professionals.
I suspect this sort of competition is better run through FHI, if only due to their Oxford affiliation.
That’s a good idea. The main obstacle I see is that FHI might not want to get involved in such an endeavor, especially since they are targeting only postdocs for their research positions, and have no programs for students.
“Indeed, I cannot think of any high school scholarship that is used primarily to collect information for the sponsoring organization (is this really the case?). However, there is good reason for this – no one else is interested in reaching the same group of high school students. SI is the only organization I know of who wants to reach high school students for their research group.”
I find this place persistently surprising, which is nice. Try to imagine what you would think if a religious organization did this and how you would feel. It’s alright to hold a scholarship to encourage kids to be interested in a topic; not so to garner information for your own purposes, unless that is incredibly clear upfront. Very Gwernian.
Establish a scholarship to collect information on young talent
Related: Reaching young math/compsci talent
Create a merit scholarship for the type of young talent that SI wants to attract – this can reveal valuable information about this group of people, and can potentially be used a targeted publicity tool if handled well.
Information that could be collected from applications
Basic personal details (age, location, contact methods, etc.)
Education (past and future)
Academic interests
Career goals
Awards and competition results
Third-party reviews (i.e., letters of recommendation)
Basic personality assessment (see previous LW discussion on correlates with Big Five personality traits: [1], [2], [3])
Ideas about and attitudes toward x-risks/FAI/SI/FHI (these could be responses to prompts – as a bonus, applicants are introduced to the content in the prompts)
… Pretty much anything else (personal anecdote: I’ve revealed things about myself in college and scholarship applications that I have never expressed to anyone else)
Uses of this information
Check whether SI is effectively reaching the right people with its current plans.
The compiled list of young talent could be directly used to advertise things like SPARC to the right people.
General survey tool.
Potential problems and difficulties
Its use as an information gathering tool could be seen negatively.
Legal issues?
Publicity. The scholarship has to be made known to the relevant people, and this has to be done in such a way that SI is seen as a reputable institute. However, a scholarship does open up new avenues for publicity.
Cost and manpower.
Is anyone else doing this?
As with many ideas, we ought to be cautious if we see no one else doing something similar. Indeed, I cannot think of any high school scholarship that is used primarily to collect information for the sponsoring organization (is this really the case?). However, there is good reason for this – no one else is interested in reaching the same group of high school students. SI is the only organization I know of who wants to reach high school students for their research group.
FHI had a competition that could be an attempt to collect information, but I’m not sure.
High school scholarships
It would be wise to consult current high school scholarships, and AoPS has a good list.
I like this. The fact that this sort of thing is done by so many organizations seems evidence that it’s a good way to reach young people. It might be wise to emphasize getting young folks to think about existential risks through an essay contest over gathering data about them.
Here’s what I found:
http://lesswrong.com/lw/82g/on_the_openness_personality_trait_rationality/
http://lesswrong.com/lw/9m6/the_personality_of_greatcreative_scientists_open/
I suspect this sort of competition is better run through FHI, if only due to their Oxford affiliation.
Hmm… I was thinking that no other organization does this, but I imagine that we mean different things by “this” – I suppose you are referring to the large number of organizations that sponsor a scholarship, as opposed to the lack of organizations that sponsor a scholarship with the specific goal of collecting information on high school students.
Good point. The way this is publicized would be important – it might be worthwhile to consult professionals.
Thanks! These are the posts I was thinking of. I’ve added them to the grandparent. One more tangentially related post (also by Gwern):
http://lesswrong.com/r/discussion/lw/ac4/online_education_and_conscientiousness/
That’s a good idea. The main obstacle I see is that FHI might not want to get involved in such an endeavor, especially since they are targeting only postdocs for their research positions, and have no programs for students.
“Indeed, I cannot think of any high school scholarship that is used primarily to collect information for the sponsoring organization (is this really the case?). However, there is good reason for this – no one else is interested in reaching the same group of high school students. SI is the only organization I know of who wants to reach high school students for their research group.”
I find this place persistently surprising, which is nice. Try to imagine what you would think if a religious organization did this and how you would feel. It’s alright to hold a scholarship to encourage kids to be interested in a topic; not so to garner information for your own purposes, unless that is incredibly clear upfront. Very Gwernian.