Remember last time the god of gaps was discussed as well as the importance of science to explain the world. We ended with our current confusion in a "god-tasked-to-explain". We now delve into the history of that god.
If we extended Tyler Cowen's hockey stick of prosperity back to the beginnings of human settlement some 10,000 years ago, we would see that the hockey stick shape would not change much. So, not much improves in human history overall until the blade begins to form at about 1800 and from there things keep getting steeper. You'll find that the same graph applies to almost any other metric we use for to measure the quality of life: life expectancy, infant mortality, poverty, literacy. Nothing much happens until about 1800. And, if you look at the time period covered by the hosel, the part of the stick where the shaft joins the blade -- about 1600-1800 -- you discover that what is happening is the scientific revolution. No wonder people were so enamored of science. Prayer didn't have near the record of success that science did.
In another episode of the "Everyday Economics" series, Don Boudreaux put it this way: in 1776, Adam Smith published a book that made "An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations." What was curious at the time was why there was any wealth at all. Today we write books on the causes of poverty.
1 comment:
If we extended Tyler Cowen's hockey stick of prosperity back to the beginnings of human settlement some 10,000 years ago, we would see that the hockey stick shape would not change much. So, not much improves in human history overall until the blade begins to form at about 1800 and from there things keep getting steeper. You'll find that the same graph applies to almost any other metric we use for to measure the quality of life: life expectancy, infant mortality, poverty, literacy. Nothing much happens until about 1800. And, if you look at the time period covered by the hosel, the part of the stick where the shaft joins the blade -- about 1600-1800 -- you discover that what is happening is the scientific revolution. No wonder people were so enamored of science. Prayer didn't have near the record of success that science did.
In another episode of the "Everyday Economics" series, Don Boudreaux put it this way: in 1776, Adam Smith published a book that made "An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations." What was curious at the time was why there was any wealth at all. Today we write books on the causes of poverty.
Post a Comment