Liz

You both like politics, philosophy, and literature.

You: Hello. I'm Adam, 24. I'd like to argue/discuss; hbu?

Stranger: I'm Liz, 22, same

You: Awesome!

You: Do you have a topic or two?

Stranger: Hmmm, in general, I'll talk about most things

Stranger: Favorite books, favorite writers, morality, etc...

Stranger: Normal day-to-day stuff

Stranger: Did you have anything in mind?

You: I do

Stranger: What?

You: But I'm game for those too

You: I usually argue for veganism, or buying local, based on certain animal's living conditions in the US (i.e., suffering, not against slaughter).

Stranger: Let's go with yours if you have one in mind

Stranger: I eat meat, but I think that the argument for veganism is pretty hard to refute

You: Why not be vegetarian then?

Stranger: Buying local is also good, but expensive too

Stranger: I've always liked to indulge the senses to some extent. I was also raised eating meeting and it's convenient. In general, though, I don't think I'd have a huge problem going vegetarian

Stranger: Unfortunately, this is one of those topics where I don't have much of a defense for my behavior

Stranger: Or at least not a defense I'd accept

You: Certain animals suffer unnecessarily due to certain practices inherent in factory farming.

You: Basically production animals are put in contexts not optimal for them. Some of them get sick; the majority, though stressed, manage to survive, grow, reproduce, produce milk/eggs, and so on--sometimes despite being sick. The productivity of those who cope outweighs the loss associated with those who cannot.

You: So the right thing to do--in regard to practical action that you or I can do--is either buy local "organic" meats and such, which is a bit expensive, or become vegetarian (and hopefully someday vegan).

Stranger: I agree factory farming is horrible

Stranger: I make an effort to buy organic meat, but what's that really mean?

You: Local.

You: Grass fed, etc

You: Cage free or whatever

Stranger: I think I can start doing that

You: =0

Stranger: I probably should anyway haha

Stranger: I could go vegetarian, too

You: I'd start with vegetarian

Stranger: Idk, that is harder to promise until I'm committed, though

You: Not like it's going to happen overnight

Stranger: I don't think it would be that hard for me not to buy more meat

Stranger: But at things like client lunches and stuff

Stranger: I get hungry lol

You: Eventually, once you've been vegetarian for 1-3ish years

You: Think about being flex vegan

You: That's where you are vegan at home

You: but vegetarian when going out to eat

You: It's flexible.

Stranger: At what age did you become vegetarian?

You: 22

Stranger: I'm 22 so

You: oh ya

You: lol

Stranger: I guess better late than never

Stranger: We'll see

Stranger: People ask me these questions more than ever before lol

Stranger: I think it's getting into the zeitgeist

You: what questions?

Stranger: About eating meat, if I should, how do I justify it, etc.

You: Oh, you have veg*an friends?

Stranger: Yes, actually

Stranger: My roommate's vegan

You: Damn

You: You're lucky

Stranger: Yeah, makes it easy

Stranger: If I wanted to switch

Stranger: Are you happy/enjoying life?

You: Well enough. I watch too many movies

Stranger: I'm on the internet too much

You: What are you favorites?

Stranger: My roommate is traveling for work and esp when she's gone

Stranger: Hmmm

Stranger: Hard question

You: Within your top 20

Stranger: There Will Be Blood

Stranger: I liked the recent movies BlackKklansman and Sorry to Bother You thought I'm still digesting them

Stranger: though

Stranger: I liked Blade Runner, not that it's auteur cinema. The movie Brazil stands out

Stranger: There must be more, though

Stranger: I've seen a lot

You: Jesus. I only know half these movies

Stranger: You?

Stranger: Birdman was good even if it's been hyped up a lot now

You: Um, well since you were naming fairly new ones

You: Before I Fall

You: Dredd

Stranger: Name some old ones if you want

You: Good Will Hunting

Stranger: I like that

You: MFA

You: A Cure for Wellness

You: Don't Breathe

You: Listening 2014

You: Jack Reacher

Stranger: These are all good recommendations since I need movies to watch

You: Prometheus

Stranger: Favorite books?

Stranger: I liked Moon a lot

You: Oh ya, I loved that one

You: Books, do you want fiction or nonfiction?

Stranger: Either/or

You: Self-Directed Behavior by Watson & Tharp

You: Frankenstein

You: The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential People

Stranger: Who's 1?

You: I don't remember. Muhammad I think

Stranger: Nonfiction: Catherine the Great, The Metaphysical Club, The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, John Adams

You: (It was written by a white guy)

Stranger: Fiction: Catch-22, A Confederacy of Dunces, (this is sort of non-fiction, but) A Moveable Feast

Stranger: So why do you come on here?

You: Um, a lot of reasons

You: Sometimes I think of a new way I want to argue veganism. Sometimes I want to talk about absolute poverty. I try not to expect things

You: I've learned shitty conversations happen when I expect things

Stranger: What about absolute poverty?

Stranger: Speaking of poverty, Down and Out in Paris and London is a good book

You: Oh, by Orwell (looked it up)

Stranger: Yeah, it's quality

Stranger: Very documentary style

You: So lessening absolute (extreme) poverty abroad is my main cause area

You: You could say my passion

Stranger: What do you think is the best method to do this?

Stranger: Establishment style development or something else?

You: Nope. I've read things about macroeconomic, and taken related courses--but I'm talking about philanthropy.

You: It's related to this nascent movement, Effective Altruism.

You: wikipedia.org/wiki/Effective_altruism

Stranger: Do you intend to go abroad?

You: No

Stranger: I've hard of effective altruism, albeit briefly

You: 1.1 Impartiality
1.2 Cause prioritization
1.3 Cost-effectiveness
1.4 Counterfactual reasoning
1.5 Room for more funding

Stranger: Do you think you'll have an opportunity to engaged in poverty alleviation efforts overseas?

Stranger: engage

Stranger: In some way, not necessarily by being there

You: Sorry if you don't like me doing this, but:

You: Effective altruists argue that counterfactual reasoning is important to determine which course of action maximizes positive impact. Many people assume that the best way to help people is through direct methods, such as working for a charity or providing social services,[27][28] but since charities and social-service providers usually can find people willing to work for them, effective altruists compare the amount of good somebody does in a conventional altruistic career to how much good would have been done had the next-best candidate been hired for the position.

You: ~ counterfactual reasoning

Stranger: Interesting

You: So I'm earning to give

You: Giving part of my income

You: Some "effective altruists" give 40% or more of their income

You: But I think it's better to invest most, and give more later

Stranger: Hmm, I give a fixed portion of my income, but it's less than that lol

Stranger: Yeah, I'd agree with that

You: I give 1% as a student (signed the Giving What We Can Pledge)

You: So I give a pittance, but it's consistent

Stranger: I give .7% rn

Stranger: So

Stranger: Not much either lol

You: ~1%

You: lol

You: rounding up

Stranger: Exactly

Stranger: But I'd like to increase that eventually

Stranger: I'm just aggressively saving now

Stranger: About 40% of my salary goes to the bank and stays there

Stranger: Or to a passively managed indexed mutual fund