23 ms·
In practical terms of impacting the greatest % of the population, some data that I'd like to have seen here are around life expectancy: - Life expectancy, men/
by 11thEarlOfMar 10y ago
In practical terms of impacting the greatest % of the population, some data that I'd like to have seen here are around life expectancy:
- Life expectancy, men/women
- Infant mortality
- Accidental death
- Death by illness/disease
- Death by military conflict
For example:
- Life expectancy (US, men & women average)
1870: 35.1 years
1920: 54.1
1970: 70.9
2012: 78.7
The most years gained were 1870 - 1920.
As for military conflict, innovation happens in politics and diplomacy as well as technology. I'd like to see how innovations in politics and diplomacy have impacted death by military conflict as military technology become increasingly lethal.
- dredmorbius 10y agoGordon actually has some really good chapters on healthcare and medicine, among the very best parts of his book. He's also absolutely nuts with graphs and tables, and covers much of this in detail. TL;DR: 2x the improvement of life expectency came before 1950 as after. Medicine since 1970 has been expensive, high-tech, changed rapidly, and delivered very little. Much the improved outcomes arises from improved access for the underserved, not radical treatments. Genomics and stem cells are specifically and pointedly disappointing.