
Ask HN: What should I be doing to Maximize the Benefit Mankind can get from me? - tonmoy
All my life I was productive thinking I need to maximize my productivity because I want to maximize the benefit I can provide to mankind. I got into science because I thought that is how I personally could contribute most. Recently I am having a sort late 20s crisis. Are the chips I am helping design to improve efficiency of consumer electronics helping mankind at all? Probably not as much as I could be doing. I am wondering what I could be doing in terms of a different job or a side project to help mankind the most (or at least help me rationalize what I am doing is actually helping mankind somehow).
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vinchuco
To answer your question, instead of maximizing your output, I believe that
maximizing everyone else's output is more valuable. It is also harder,
otherwise someone else would have already done it.

I am very biased to answer that mathematics drives science. Advance the tools
and applications follow. [1]

Here is a more heuristic take on it by Elon Musk:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnBQmEqBCY0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnBQmEqBCY0)

[1]
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12283929](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12283929)

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philiphodgen
1\. Take care of yourself. Morally, physically, spiritually, intellectually.
You cannot serve others without this first.

2\. Work one-on-one with another person. Someone helped you. Now you help
someone else. Then another. The ego says you must impact millions. Truly, you
will do more by changing one person's life. Then another. The chain reaction
will take effect.

3\. Serve a small group in your community. Be a worker among workers. A friend
among friends. Don't go for glory. Don't try to be the Big Cheese. Be there
for service to make the organization better.

Your work can be a channel for these efforts. So can being a spouse and a
parent.

Everyone wants to be Steve Jobs or Bob Dylan or Martin Luther King.

Just be a good dad. There is a universe of value in that.

~~~
tonmoy
This is my minimum goal now, something I must do no matter where I end up.

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meira
I would start by understanding the polítics behind your boss or contractor.
People working at silicon valley, for example, are frequently helping someone
to apply an agenda that don't benefit a lot of people other than their
shareholders.

~~~
tonmoy
I am fairly sure the same applies for my company as well. Very little I can do
about it, since I singed the contract I am obligated to consider the best
interest of the shareholder.

~~~
meira
It is important to think about it, because you may be helping hijack society,
what would put you far behind your initial (and inspiring) intent.

