I think you’re right, that akrasia would be one of the biggest reasons. There’s also the possibility that there aren’t enough applause lights for giving, and that thus giving to the SIAI just doesn’t feel as good as it should. And since LW doesn’t press my superstimulus buttons the way a video game does, it hurts more to pay for 20 hours of entertainment here than it does to pay for, say, Portal 2, which didn’t even provide 20 hours of fun (but oh what fun...).
I’ve tried to set up donation matching with friends before. Most are just not interested. The one that was willing has recently decided to buy a house and get married, so he can’t play any more. But for a while, I was a part of a superorganism that had twice the donating power as just me alone, and that felt pretty cool.
I’ll start thinking of how it could be implemented, just in case the SIAI is interested.
There’s also the possibility that there aren’t enough applause lights for giving, and that thus giving to the SIAI just doesn’t feel as good as it should.
Until I explicitly asked for it, this was certainly true for me. The Red Cross thanks me and provides gifts or status boosts more than 12 times, in person, on each individual visit to donate blood, sometimes doing so in a public forum. SIAI doesn’t even send an automated email any more.
I find it annoying when the Red Cross calls me, even when it’s just with thanks, but part of why I’ve given blood in the past is that there’s a plaque on the wall in my grandma’s house of a newspaper clipping in which my grandfather is praised for exceeding the (I think) 10-gallon mark of blood donation.
I think you’re right, that akrasia would be one of the biggest reasons. There’s also the possibility that there aren’t enough applause lights for giving, and that thus giving to the SIAI just doesn’t feel as good as it should. And since LW doesn’t press my superstimulus buttons the way a video game does, it hurts more to pay for 20 hours of entertainment here than it does to pay for, say, Portal 2, which didn’t even provide 20 hours of fun (but oh what fun...).
I’ve tried to set up donation matching with friends before. Most are just not interested. The one that was willing has recently decided to buy a house and get married, so he can’t play any more. But for a while, I was a part of a superorganism that had twice the donating power as just me alone, and that felt pretty cool.
I’ll start thinking of how it could be implemented, just in case the SIAI is interested.
Until I explicitly asked for it, this was certainly true for me. The Red Cross thanks me and provides gifts or status boosts more than 12 times, in person, on each individual visit to donate blood, sometimes doing so in a public forum. SIAI doesn’t even send an automated email any more.
I find it annoying when the Red Cross calls me, even when it’s just with thanks, but part of why I’ve given blood in the past is that there’s a plaque on the wall in my grandma’s house of a newspaper clipping in which my grandfather is praised for exceeding the (I think) 10-gallon mark of blood donation.
Human blood has very low iron content by weight—it is measured in micrograms per deciliter.
I was also disappointed when I learned that the process of extracting the iron is nontrivial.