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Comment by vorpalhex | Hacker News Reader

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vorpalhex·

> despite the fact that it's freely available online.

The poor frequently do not have printers or significant access to consistently functional digital devices.

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> The poor frequently do not have printers or significant access to consistently functional digital devices.

If a group of people is so poor that they don't have access to digital devices, maybe printing out rationalist Harry Potter fan fiction shouldn't be at the top of the priority list for a charity trying to spend money to improve their lives.

I think teaching rationalism with approachable and interesting materials is fine and reasonable.

I suppose we could be equally upset that Sesame street uses puppets?

They gave copies to the 650 people who advanced far enough in IMO and EGMO (International Math Olympiad / European Girls’ Mathematical Olympiad) to be considered "medalists". It's very unlikely that those people don't have internet access.

In the US and most civilized nations they have public library access, which can easily be used to access Harry Potter fanfiction. It's not clear how they benefit from a printed copy of the Harry Potter fanfiction.

And how do you get to the library?

How did they get to the IMO?

The main benefit is that they’re probably more likely to actually read it. I dunno about you, but if someone gave me a book I’d probably actually read it. I definitely wouldn’t read a PDF someone emailed to me.

Were the books actually given out to the poor?

No, but imagine if they were.

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