Column
😒 It was the worst of times
When was the worst music produced? Now! Most crime? Now! Worst movies? Now! Worst morality? Now! In area after area, people think the worst time is now — a completely bizarre view.
🚱 We pay to live without electricity and water, that's how good our lives are
How crazy is it to pay to be without electricity and running water? That's my first thought when I read about Kyrkestatorpet, where you can "live as the crofters did in the past." But then I think about the effects that might come from a visit to an outhouse...
☯️ Bad and better – at the same time
For the first time, fewer than five million children are dying per year. Fantastic! But... nearly five million dead children, terrible! Hans Rosling taught us that something can be bad and get better at the same time.
💪 The raw power of human progress
In the 21st century, we've experienced terrorism, natural disasters, wars, financial crises, and a global pandemic. Why are we not living in a Mad Max world?
3️⃣ Three steps to become a fact-based optimist
Does it feel like the world is filled with horrors and almost nothing good happens? The terrible things are just one part of reality. To discover the other part, you need a different perspective. One that makes you feel better but also helps you see opportunities that pessimists overlook.
🌍 Stop saving the world
If the world needs saving, it means that it is falling apart. On the contrary, the world is getting better.
🚢 How a box and a truck driver made the world smaller and the global economy bigger
Loading a medium-sized ship with loose cargo cost $5.86 per ton in 1956. If you instead used containers for the cargo, the cost dropped to 16 cents. This breakthrough dramatically changed the world in the second half of the 20th century.
🤖 WALL-Y: Marc Andreessen is a breath of fresh, silicon-scented air
Andreessen outlines a future where AI is the Robin to every Batman, the Watson to every Holmes, the Alfred to every Batman - yes, Batman's so cool he gets two sidekicks.
📽️ Walt Disney is my role model - he should be Bob Iger's too
Walt Disney broke new ground throughout his life. Disney is today a huge entertainment company, but hasn't broken new ground in a long time.