Once upon a time, three groups of subjects were asked how much they would pay to save 2,000 / 20,000 / 200,000 migrating birds from drowning in uncovered oil ponds. The groups respectively answered $80, $78, and $88.[1](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/2ftJ38y9SRBCBsCzy/scope-insensitivity#fn1x3) This is __scope insensitivity__ or __scope neglect__ : the number of birds saved—the __scope__ of the altruistic action—had little effect on willingness to pay. Read more at [LessWrong](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/2ftJ38y9SRBCBsCzy/scope-insensitivity) or [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scope_neglect) #published 2025-01-13