Do your acts of kindness make a real impact? | Jon Bogard | TEDxWUSTL

Jon Bogard questions whether everyday acts of kindness actually produce meaningful results. He argues that common intuitions about helping others can be flawed, pointing to cognitive biases such as opportunity cost neglect, the "warm glow" of giving, and scope insensitivity. The talk asks how people might direct their efforts toward doing the most good, given that the world's problems are larger than the number of people stepping in to help.

• Cognitive biases that shape charitable choices
• The "warm glow" feeling of giving and its limits
• Scope insensitivity and opportunity cost neglect
• Using one's efforts to do the most good possible

What if just doing some good isn’t actually good enough? Jon Bogard challenges us to confront the uncomfortable truth: Our instincts about helping others are often flawed. Cognitive “bugs” like opportunity cost neglect, the “warm glow” feeling of giving, and scope insensitivity lead us to make choices that selfishly feel meaningful but fall short of real impact. Given that the world’s problems are bigger than the number of people rushing in to help, how can we use our lives to do the most good possible? What if just doing some good isn’t actually good enough? This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx