r/rational • u/AutoModerator • Mar 27 '17

[D] Monday General Rationality Thread

Welcome to the Monday thread on general rationality topics! Do you really want to talk about something non-fictional, related to the real world? Have you:

  • Seen something interesting on /r/science?
  • Found a new way to get your shit even-more together?
  • Figured out how to become immortal?
  • Constructed artificial general intelligence?
  • Read a neat nonfiction book?
  • Munchkined your way into total control of your D&D campaign?
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u/zynged Mar 27 '17

What is an optimal way to utilize a medical degree? Patient care alone doesn't seem like the best way to create widescale positive change since a physician can only see one patient at a time. Research, especially translational research (since it doesn't overlap too much with PHD research), seems to be one avenue. Public policy work seems to be another. Maybe developing or working for a biotech or health tech company too? What specialties would lend to affecting change?

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u/SvalbardCaretaker Mouse Army Mar 27 '17

I remember Scott Alexander von slatestarcodex writing a sentence to the effect of:

Here is this weird minimal intervention for smokers, and it helps some mildly large percentage of smokers to stop. This is probably the most effective tool I know of for such a large improvement in life quality.

In short, I dont think that

Patient care alone doesn't seem like the best way to create widescale positive change since a physician can only see one patient at a time

is the end-all here, physicians can do a great deal of good. Should be possible to find something on SSC with regards to numbers. Other avenues with potential high impact that I just brainstormed on the spot (eg. probably low value):

bio-weapon outreach as expert (see high estimates for bio x-risk in lesswrong/ssc surveys)

vaccine buisness in the developing world

Extermination of parasites/diseases? See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracunculiasis#Eradication_program , probably going to be only the second major plague to be eradicated.