This is not true. The idea of constant progress is a relatively recent cultural invention. Prior to the great acceleration changes were slow enough that the w

This is not true. The idea of constant progress is a relatively recent cultural invention. Prior to the great acceleration changes were slow enough that the world seemed static over a lifetime. If it wasn't, the changes were almost as likely to be negative as positive. It's also entirely possible that we are in a transitional period. That in hindsight the great acceleration will be the first half of a sigmoid function. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Acceleration https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Acceleration