Share Our Wealth: TRIUMVIRATE (Web Serials Packet)

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Share Our Wealth: TRIUMVIRATE (Web Serials Packet)

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It's time for yet another edition of Share Our Wealth. And if you thought that the topics of the previous editions just weren't niche enough, you're in luck. Want to go back to 2013 and relive Gold Morning all over again? How about one of Erin Solstice's [Immortal Moments]? Or maybe you just want to laugh at Zorian again after remembering the 50th time that Kirielle jumped on his chest. Next month's packet is not only on web serials, but it is on the three specific web serials I just alluded to (Worm, The Wandering Inn, and Mother of Learning). Knowledge of all three web serials is recommended, but not required (there will not be any crossover content). If you're a crazy person, I guess you could tackle one of them before the event.

Due to the large number of non-quizbowl players who are participating, I decided to run this on a separate Discord server. You can join it at the link here. I am planning to do the first reading on January 18th at 8PM Central, but it looks like there is going to be enough interest to run multiple days of this event. We are currently working out scheduling on the Discord. Hope to see you then!

Note: I would also be willing to read the high school poetry packet shootout from before if there is enough interest.

Distribution
Worm (33%, 8 Tossups) (NO WARD CONTENT)
The Wandering Inn (33%, 8 Tossups)
Mother of Learning (33%, 8 Tossups)

Because of TWI's extraordinary length, I'll go a bit more into detail regarding the subdistribution:
Geography
  • 50% Izril
  • 12.5% Chandrar
  • 12.5% Baleros
  • 25% Mixed
The content is also meant to be evenly distributed chronologically. Expect coverage of each volume to be roughly proportional to its word count (with a bit less from the most recent volume).

Donation rules are the same as last time; donate any amount to any of the below charities in order to participate!

JANUARY 2020 SOW CHARITIES
MALARIA
  • Malaria Consortium: Malaria Consortium provides seasonal preventative medicine to protect against malaria, one of the leading preventative causes of death in the world (especially for children). It costs about $7 to medicate a child, so the return on your donation is quite high.
  • Against Malaria Foundation Against Malaria buys malaria nets to protect vulnerable populations. It costs about $5 to buy one net, so the return on your donation is quite high here as well.
BASIC PREVENTATIVE CARE
  • Helen Keller International: Helen Keller International addresses malnutrition among children, particularly Vitamin A deficiency. The cost of one such supplement is just $1.
  • New Incentives New Incentives provides cash benefits to those who vaccinate their children in Nigeria. As 43% of infants in Nigeria did not complete their immunizations in 2019, this is a pressing concern. Several studies suggest that the New Incentives program really does make a difference, and it costs about $47 to incentivize a parent to complete their child's immunization schedule.
  • SCI Foundation SCI Foundation works with governments to implement mass deworming programs, which provide medicine to get parasitic worms out of children. Parasitic worms infect hundreds of millions of children, and it is pretty clear that they lead to a lower quality of life.
  • Evidence Action Evidence Action focuses on a variety of causes, most notably their Deworming the World initiative. They send monitors to facilitate and support mass deworming initiatives, as well as evaluate the extent to which they are accomplishing their goals.

UNCONDITIONAL DIRECT CASH TRANSFER
  • GiveDirectly GiveDirectly gives unconditional cash transfers to very poor families, with which they can spend on anything they want. These cash transfers have generally been shown to be quite effective at increasing quality of life.
  • Humanity Forward Humanity Forward is providing COVID cash relief to the Bronx, as well as pushing for a coronavirus stimulus package in the US Congress and trying to mainstream the idea of universal basic income in American politics. While the return for your cash here is probably a bit lower than it would be elsewhere, this does provide a domestic opportunity to donate (plus promoting the idea of unconditional cash transfers anywhere is indirectly promoting it everywhere).
CLIMATE CHANGE
  • ITIF Clean Energy Program ITIF is a think tank that invests in clean energy R&D. They focus on a wide range of emission reduction strategies, which I think sets them apart from other similar initiatives.
  • Coalition for Rainforest Nations Coalition for Rainforest Nations is an organization that supports tropical countries in protecting and incentivizing preservation of their rainforests. They have a lot of pull at the international level (like they were at the bargaining table for the Paris Climate Agreement), which sets them apart from similar initiatives.
  • Clean Air Task Force The Clean Air Task Force is a US-based group that advocates for climate initiatives and also puts a lot of money towards R&D in underfocused areas. They have a proven track record of getting initiatives through, which can't be said of many similar groups.
Kevin Kodama
University of Washington '23
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Re: Share Our Wealth: TRIUMVIRATE (Web Serials Packet)

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The reading of TRIUMVIRATE has concluded. Unfortunately, I left my scoresheets at home, so I will not be able to provide complete stats. From what I can remember, Finn Bender took the Mother of Learning title as well as the overall title. However, Sophie Lai powered enough Worm questions to not only take the Worm title but come second overall (despite not having read any of the other works!). The Wandering Inn title was more hotly contested-- Emet Sensat ended up defeating Gordon Anderson on the tiebreaker. We ended up raising $530 for charity. GiveDirectly and the Against Malaria Foundation were especially popular. I'll throw in my $25 to Evidence Action to bring us to a nice $555.

Since no one stepped up to take over the event in February, it looks like this will be the end of my little project. I suppose I'm a bit disappointed that it didn't become more of a thing, but I'm still glad that I did it. I hope everyone who participated enjoyed. All packets that were read should be up on the archive shortly.
Kevin Kodama
University of Washington '23
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