Human Progress

After decades of ideological opposition, nuclear energy is experiencing a global revival. From @ziontree: humanprogress.org/the-new-nuclea…

Protectionism stems from two deeply-rooted human tendencies: hostility toward outgroups and aesthetic preference for work that involves producing tangible objects. From @RichardHanania: humanprogress.org/how-evolutiona…

people have no idea what life was like before they were born

"Cancer is related to age. If you strip out longer lifespans, it becomes clear that in the rich world the early 1990s were an inflection point. Since then, the age-adjusted death rate has been falling, slowly but steadily, year after year." humanprogress.org/the-world-is-w…

Nostalgia for manufacturing is rooted not in economic logic or ethical clarity, but in an instinctive bias toward labor that resembles that of our ancestral past. New from @RichardHanania: newsletter.humanprogress.org/p/how-evolutio…

Why do people oppose free trade? In @HumanProgress, I argue that protectionism hits two aspects of human nature: our bias against outgroups, and our bias towards creating tangible objects, when that is no longer the basis of a modern economy. humanprogress.org/how-evolutiona…

In this week's Flourishing Friday, I discuss a new study that adds to the growing evidence that  personality is more changeable than we typically think. We can increase traits like curiosity. This is good for us personally and for advancing human progress.

Because of copying, all humans benefit when some humans make technological progress. If you corrupt or destroy the few centers of technological progress, the whole world will suffer.

In the early 20th century, long distance phone calls were completely out of the reach of the average person. Depending on where one lived, a five-minute phone call to New York City could cost a week's wages or more. humanprogress.org/infinite-abund…

"The river system, the main part of which was once considered biologically dead, is witnessing the return of an abundance of life." humanprogress.org/how-europes-di…

There is no reason to think that government officials are better incentivized than private property owners to think long-term. humanprogress.org/the-degrowth-b…

🇰🇷 Our book, Centers of Progress, is now available in Korean! Special thanks to Kim Si-deok, author of The Future of Korean Cities, who has endorsed the translation. Pick up a copy here: hdjisung.com/bbs/board.php?…

Contrary to the predictions of Malthusians like Paul Ehrlich, population growth does not lead to resource scarcity. Resource abundance is actually increasing faster than the population is growing. humanprogress.org/the-simon-abun…

"The World Health Organization has validated Senegal as having eliminated trachoma as a public health problem." humanprogress.org/senegal-joins-…

The Korean translation of Centers of Progress is beautifully designed:

The ancient Greeks and Romans waged wars, built extractive empires, and committed atrocities. Yet their literature reveals a unique capacity to question those actions, to see the humanity in their adversaries, and to strive for moral improvement. humanprogress.org/the-ancient-ro…

The answer is yes, but not for long. wsj.com/business/retai…

I love the age of miracles we live in. This gene therapy took one shot and restored the hearing of a full-grown adult. Here's a video showing responsiveness to sound just one month after a single injection: