I literally just said that this is the first time I’ve heard of effective altruism. I read what others said about it here, and it doesn’t sound good. I have generally favored what little I’ve read about stoicism, but apparently it’s become problematic too. I know better than to talk about ideas that I’m unfamiliar with. Is it a problem that I refuse to assert any kind of intellectual authority where I have none?

So what I said was I appreciate the fact that he is curious. I remember when I was his age. I believed in some batshit crazy things. I was a devout fundamentalist christian, a young earth creationist, an incel before they used the word. You know how I broke free of all that? Insatiable curiosity. I filled my head with other people’s ideas. Cognitive dissonance forced me to abandon bad ideas and I clung to good ideas until I was able to form a solid foundation for how to face reality. Rationality was critical to that process.

I’m not prepared to criticize the ideas and positions he was curious about. But I do praise a curious mind. Young people are still forming their positions. Part of that process is investigating ideas, accepting the good and rejecting the bad. I don’t know how he will turn out. But curiosity is a good quality.