“How do we weigh the unforeseen and often unforeseeable negative results of our humanitarian interventions?” -James Dawes, That the World May Know, p. 16 “I sing the song because I love the man.” -Neil Young Primum non nocere [first, do no harm], indeed As background preparation for class I am re-reading William Easterly’s The Tyranny of Experts, and this has lead to re-visiting some fundamental ideas about aid, development, the humanitarian imperative, and, well, what it all means.  This reflection has led me again to the question many of us ask at various stages of our career, namely ‘what difference am I making in the world?’  So, for a bit, I am jumping down that rabbit hole once again, knowing already my destination, but unable to stop myself. The trope ‘move the needle’ has been used in popular discourse for decades now, and has even achieved cliche status in the … Continue reading ‘Moving the needle’ trope