Ask HN: Ideas for small ways to make the world a better place

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46917633

by jlmcgraw • 6 months ago

42 42 6 months ago

news.ycombinator.com

I’m looking for some good, specific ideas on small ways to have a positive impact on the world on a daily basis.

What do you consider to be the highest return-on-efforts ways to make the world a better place for as many people as possible?

toomuchtodo• 6 months ago

https://www.effectivealtruism.org/ at scale. Kindness, listening, time, and financial charity to those around you at the microcosm level.

bigyabai• 6 months ago

Better known as "charity" among people that don't need their egos stroked.

vunderba• 6 months ago

If you're interested in donating and being reasonably assured that your money isn't getting the Worldvision treatment, I highly recommend checking out "Giving What We Can" [1] and "GiveWell" [2].

- [1] https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/best-charities-to-donate-to-...

- [2] https://www.givewell.org/charities/top-charities

tizzzzz• 6 months ago

This is a great idea!Like I move around a lot in various online communities, I always Encountering all kinds of comments.Please support the comments you think are right, I think this can increase the confidence of the publisher and also makePlease support the comments you think are right, I think this can increase the confidence of the publisher and also make yourself feel happy.When more and more excellent speeches are encouraged, the world will become a little bit better.

beardyw• 6 months ago

People want to feel loved, safe, respected and happy. To make the world a better place start with yourself and make sure you make those things a priority with whoever you interact with.

mitchbob• 6 months ago

Recently posted here on HN and well worth a look:

Underrated ways to change the world, part II

https://www.experimental-history.com/p/underrated-ways-to-ch...

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46873494

Part I is at

https://www.experimental-history.com/p/underrated-ways-to-ch...

wanderingpixel• 6 months ago

Be kind. Create beauty.

Blackstrat• 6 months ago

Work and take care of your family.

valgor• 6 months ago

Go vegan. You will no longer be apart of horrific animal abuse, the leading cause of biodiversity loss and deforestation, and if done correctly, will likely improve your health. You won't be able to get so much good from doing one thing.

GenericDev• 6 months ago

Maybe a nice halfway point would to be vegetarian...

shoo• 6 months ago

incremental steps like reducing or eliminating beef consumption by substituting less water intensive meat (e.g. chicken / turkey) are also helpful

ted_bunny5• 5 months ago

And if you can't do that, it's not all or nothing. It's not about keeping your soul pure.

Go vegan on weekdays. Or weekends. Or one meal a day. Or do vegetarian instead of vegan.

There are a lot of ways to do a nonzero amount of good, and you may inspire others to do so. And this partial commitment allows you to do so without any adjustment to your lifestyle. You will not suffer a B12 or iron deficiency or whatever else you're worried about. You don't have to eat weird foods you're grossed out by.

yef• 6 months ago

Be an organ donor. Donate blood on a regular basis. Skeptoid had a podcast today that talks about blood donation with some interesting tidbits about shelf life of platelets and whole blood. (5 days vs 42 days)

(Disclaimer: the site I hacked for myself to help me consume podcasts) https://spokengoods.com/podcasts/385078-skeptoid/mic-d-up-br...

onlypassingthru• 6 months ago

The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best is now.*

*But also make sure you water, stake and prune it for the first 3-5 years.

idontwantthis• 6 months ago

Just talk to strangers and be kind. Compliment people. Let service workers know when they’ve done a good job. Walk around your neighborhood and meet your neighbors.

aristofun• 6 months ago

This has been quality answered many times by smartest people but nobody cares.

Take Kant for example and go improve yourself, as the only part of the world you can really change.

muzani2• 5 months ago

I'm not a fan of the things proposed by 80000 Hours or other smartest people. There's a lot of people who said that AI would be the most important thing to work on, and those people ended up using AI for evil in the end.

Plus it assumes that survival or suffering are the highest priority things, but there's a lot more other things like community and civilization.

galleywest200• 6 months ago

Pick up trash you see on the ground. Does not need to be a huge “adopt a highway” style thing. Just pick up that bag on the ground near the bin and put it in the bin.

Not only does this make the place cleaner, people watching this may get the warm fuzzies that someone else actually cares.

Another thing is to ask employees at stores how their day is. You don’t need to have a full conversation, sometimes people just have nobody ask them this question and it helps.

apothegm• 6 months ago

Give at least one person per day — whom you otherwise wouldn’t — a few words of genuine and specific appreciation. Friend, family, coworker, stranger. Doesn’t matter.

ted_bunny5• 5 months ago

It is heartbreaking to see how people's eyes light up when you give them a modicum of recognition. We shouldn't be so starved of love that we expect to walk through a wasteland every day. When I was Lyfting I had people shower me with thanks simply for showing what I consider basic human decency, by having genuine conversations and truly listening.

nkzednan• 5 months ago

FYI see https://youtu.be/EP74acIVs60

Also research has shown how people who say hi to us improve our mood even if these are people who we recognize but may not even know their name

moomoo11• 6 months ago

I make the world better for myself everyday.

Trying to make the world better for others has been a losing battle and one not worth fighting either. People are automatons. They have their own desires and irrational behaviors.

So I just focus on my own happiness.

Global warming? I’ll optimize to live on coastal California. It should be 60-75F beautiful sunny days until the day I die.

Insane politics? I’ll live 2800 miles away around hippies and liberals. I don’t need to watch the news.

Things getting expensive? Make more money so it doesn’t affect me.

People are suffering everywhere? Dawg I’m suffering too, so I’ll believe in something irrational so it doesn’t affect me.

Maybe not what you wanted to hear. But I’m a realist and wasted a few years of my life trying to think of those things. Ultimately, it’s not worth it. I’ll support things that make sense and I don’t eat meat or drive a gas guzzler. What more do you want?

When you ask your titular question you’re already in a minority of the population.

Many people continue to make dumbass decisions that affect everyone else in negative ways. I would love to slap them back to their senses, but that’s not allowed.

ted_bunny5• 5 months ago

You sure it's not your outlook? You sound quite disenchanted and even bitter about the topic. I am sure you helped far more people than you think. Focus on gratitude.

Or at least like, don't spread bad vibes on the topic.

brudgers• 6 months ago

Just making the world better is the simplest thing that might work.

highest return-on-efforts ways to make the world a better place for as many people as possible?

“Return” is for your ego. So is “as many people as possible.” Good luck.

muzani2• 5 months ago

Exactly this. It compounds. I like how someone said go vegan, but really "eat less beef" works just as well.

seattle_spring• 6 months ago

Donate to causes you care about.

Volunteer your time.

Adopt an animal that otherwise might be euthanized.

Pick up litter.

Be nice to strangers.

mkbkn• 5 months ago

Plant trees.

chistev• 5 months ago

Just be the change you want to see in the world.

coronapl• 5 months ago

Give way to people crossing the street.

I come from Mexico, where millions of people walk and take public transport every day. Unfortunately, poor infrastructure and our mobility culture hurt pedestrians the most. Sometimes people have to wait several minutes just to cross a street. Years ago, a teacher told me that giving way to pedestrians was a simple action to make the world better. It makes a real difference for those who don't have the privilege of being in a car. This stuck with me, and I try to do it whenever possible. It might not apply everywhere with better infrastructure, but I find it to be a small yet meaningful action.

markus_zhang• 5 months ago

Being vocal in local politics. Volunteer in schools to teach children about history, democracy and technology. IMO there are two criteria’s to be a true citizen: 1) not afraid to speak out in public and push back, and 2) be a scientific person

gnz11• 5 months ago

If you drive, drive safely. Slow down in neighborhoods.

erhserhdfd• 5 months ago

I would not over complicate this. My personal four part plan for this is:

1. Donate a portion of my income to charitable causes I find worthy. I would like to target 10% of my net income.

2. Volunteer at a local organization that you care about. There are usually ample opportunities for committed volunteers if you look for them.

3. Have children. Try to raise them to be responsible, caring citizens. That way I can extend my efforts to the next generation.

4. In the near future, I intend to attempt to get involved with local politics somehow. I am still figuring out the specifics, but I am thinking that running for the local school board would be beneficial.

treelover• 5 months ago

Leave every place you visit better than you found it. Example: pick up trash in public spaces such as parks and restrooms.

ted_bunny5• 5 months ago

Spread beauty. Make your surroundings pleasing to look at. Smile. Don't be ashamed to get caught smelling flowers. Pick up trash. Garden. Respect all creatures as equals worthy of life and consideration, when possible. Agere Contra - don't accept good enough as good enough, in your practices that promote life.

borsch-dev• 5 months ago

Start with fixing yourself. Mental and physical health. Small steps. Will be kinder to others, more tolerant to other's mistakes, etc.

gethly• 5 months ago

Draw arrows on the pavement so even the morons among us will understand that side-walk is not a free-for-all to roam as you please.

taurath• 5 months ago

Help someone with rent. Bring some food to a neighbor. Donate to food banks and shelters.

IMO you’re thinking too small to try to “impact” as many people as possible - impact just 1 person and the world gets better. If you spread it out such that there is no signal left (contributing a grain of rice per person) then it prevents larger forces from self correcting. You can make a huge impact on the entire world by individual level kindness, because that person you impacted will go on to impact others for 50 some years.

stevekemp• 5 months ago

I read a story recently, which to be honest sounded fake, but it involved a guy donating a book to the children's hospital once every week.

That helped one person, chosen at random, in a way that is simple to repeat and scale.

undopamine• 5 months ago

small talk with your neighbour

Ask HN: Ideas for small ways to make the world a better place

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