A @CatoInstitute project. Subscribe to our newsletter: https://xitter.cf/t.co/j30bRWWLoJ
Washington DC
Joined August 2012
- Tweets66.7K
- Following777
- Followers206K
- Likes7.4K
Mauritius’s age- and sex-standardized type 2 diabetes prevalence fell from 23.3% in 2009 to 19.9% in 2021, the first decline shown using WHO-recommended oral glucose tolerance test criteria.
humanprogress.org/mauritius-…
Human Progress retweeted
As @Galepooley and I argued in Superabundance, value benchmark is new knowledge, not gold.
Last month, we demonstrated high-rate alchemy: turning mercury into real, stable gold, beating CERN’s record by a factor of 10.
Last week, we enriched isotopes in the world’s most powerful plasma centrifuge, beating the Soviet record that stood for 40 years.
Now, we’re building a fusion reactor in San Francisco to achieve record power density.
Human Progress retweeted
.@cremieuxrecueil writes:
"So, how many Americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck? It’s a judgment call ranging from ~7-18% depending on how you treat the threshold, non-nuclear families, and so on. But what it is not is an estimate like ‘65% of Americans live paycheck-to-paycheck.’"
open.substack.com/pub/cremie…
Human Progress retweeted
Poverty is not what needs to be explained - that was all of human history.
It's this unprecedented level of wealth starting in the 19th century that needs to be explained.
And it's not a zero sum game.
~CI Senior Philosopher @mboudry w/ @chellivia for @HumanProgress
Long-term success in the market depends on developing strong bonds of trust.
This practical necessity can eventually develop into a personal virtue.
humanprogress.org/in-trade-w…
Read more about the marvels of modern transportation: humanprogress.org/modern-tra…
In 18th-century Britain, wealthy people sometimes rented pineapples just to display them at dinner parties.
The exotic fruit was so rare and expensive that simply possessing one was a status symbol.
Today, you can buy one at the grocery store for a few dollars.
In 1920, tires only lasted around 1,000 to 2,000 miles.
Today's tires last upwards of 50,000.
humanprogress.org/tire-abund…
Probabilistic Bias Correction improved the accuracy of a leading physics-based weather model from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts for 98% of precipitation targets and 92% of temperature targets.
humanprogress.org/ai-improve…
Waymo is on an exponential learning curve, with every mile driven adding to its knowledge base.
humanprogress.org/waymo-driv…
Explore the data: humanprogress.org/dataset/ce…
Read more about this trend: humanprogress.org/trends/yie…
Thanks to hybridization, nitrogen fertilizer, improved pest controls, and genetically enhanced crops, the global average cereal yield has tripled since 1961.
Do you struggle with distraction, eat too much, and worry about distant crises?
Two thousand years ago, those were the problems of an emperor. Today, they’re the problems of ordinary people.
For most of human history, few people had those problems. Scarcity imposed its own discipline: food was limited, physical exertion unavoidable, entertainment scarce, and everyday survival demanded attention.
Now, calories are abundant, physical exertion is optional, and entertainment is endless. The challenge increasingly isn’t gaining access to things, but regulating our access to them.
From @AdamOmaryPhD: humanprogress.org/first-worl…
Order your copy today: amazon.com/Grim-Old-Days-Int…
Public executions were once considered wholesome entertainment.
Crowds traveled from far and wide to watch, and spectators could even take home grisly souvenirs from the condemned.
Learn more about how attitudes toward violence and cruelty have changed in The Grim Old Days, our latest book.
🤖 Made with AI
To believe things are getting worse when they have, in fact, never been better is a classic misdiagnosis.
And like a medical misdiagnosis, it risks ill-advised treatment: public demand for government action gives populist leaders every incentive to oblige.
Yet such policies often have the opposite effect—exacerbating the problems they’re intended to address.
humanprogress.org/how-pessim…
The same hours of work that bought a US blue-collar worker one basket of 75 finished goods in 1971 bought 5.19 baskets in 2024.
humanprogress.org/the-growin…
Vietnam signed a free trade agreement with the EFTA countries that waives or reduces customs duties on imports of industrial, fish, and agricultural products.
humanprogress.org/vietnam-si…
Resource abundance—understood as the number of work hours required to acquire something—has improved over recent decades by an average of 2-4% per year, effectively doubling every 20 to 35 years.
humanprogress.org/superabund…
