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No one says that there are no problems. The world is chock full of problems. But, from a long-term historical perspective, the problems we face today are rela

by rmah 12y ago

No one says that there are no problems. The world is chock full of problems. But, from a long-term historical perspective, the problems we face today are relatively minor. And more importantly, fewer people live in abject poverty and more people are wealthier and healthier than ever before. IMO, this is a good thing.

pluma 12y ago
Sure, I'm not questioning that the 21st century is doing relatively well (we had two world wars and several major attempts at genocide in the last one -- that sets the bar pretty low). Nor that we are, all in all, doing progressively better. But I'm not sure that, it is meaningful to point out 2014 in particular as the best year in history. If we just go by "we're still making progress and third world nations are still becoming better places to live", of course 2014 is the best year in history so far. As will 2015 be. Or any year after that, world-wide catastrophes notwithstanding. But that's nearly tautological. So depending on how you look at it, the article's claim is either trivial enough not to warrant ending up on HN IMO (any point along an upward slope is the highest point on that slope compared to those preceding it, by definition), or it's simply inaccurate (by sweeping the real problems 2014 surfaced under the rug and just saying it's all good).
- icebraining 12y ago
  It may be trivial, but it's also often forgotten.
- dragontamer 12y ago
  Historical dark ages exist. We take progress for granted, because we live in one of the most peaceful times in all of recorded history. But the Dark Ages were periods of centuries, where technology was lost and culture destroyed. Of the seven great novels of the Greeks for example, only two remain: The Odyssy and the Iliad. Look up the history of the Epic Greek tales, and learn just how much has been lost to the ages. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epic_Cycle http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epic_Cycle One day, this great golden age around us will fall. All golden ages fall eventually, and we will lose our culture, our history to a dark age of true war once more. Future historians will look upon these times as the golden age of America. But all empires collapse, and history always cycles between peace and war. And when the age of darkness comes, the current peace we have will be but a legend. For now, we should be happy for the great age we live in, while striving to make it even better than how it is currently.
- HCIdivision17 12y ago
  I think your point here is a great note on the topic, but sort of misses the very large, loud group of people out there who honestly think the world's improvement has inflected and is now going to hell in a hand basket. As such, I prefer being reminded about how remarkably not-awful things are versus the next pointlessly negative everything's falling apart rhetoric. Mind, that may have to do with where I live, maybe, and I prefer balanced rhetoric. But it's useful to remind people that the general goodness of the world is monotonically increasing (perhaps with a 10-point moving average and a little spot of outlier filtering). And yeah, this sort of conversation is almost necessarily a long-now topic. To talk about it over the course of a few months or just a year is a bit silly - there's a lot of noise. But over many decades and especially centuries, things certainly look better now. Things may be crap now in many ways, but it's only knee-deep crap. In the bad old days people waded through crap up to their eyeballs uphill both ways.
  - pluma 12y ago
    Fair enough. Yes, it's not getting worse overall. A lot of the stuff I mentioned wouldn't even have been news-worthy a few centuries ago. But for Europe and the US this was most certainly not the "best year in history", regardless of general positive trends.

by rmah 12y ago

pluma 12y ago

Sure, I'm not questioning that the 21st century is doing relatively well (we had two world wars and several major attempts at genocide in the last one -- that sets the bar pretty low). Nor that we are, all in all, doing progressively better. But I'm not sure that, it is meaningful to point out 2014 in particular as the best year in history. If we just go by "we're still making progress and third world nations are still becoming better places to live", of course 2014 is the best year in history so far. As will 2015 be. Or any year after that, world-wide catastrophes notwithstanding. But that's nearly tautological. So depending on how you look at it, the article's claim is either trivial enough not to warrant ending up on HN IMO (any point along an upward slope is the highest point on that slope compared to those preceding it, by definition), or it's simply inaccurate (by sweeping the real problems 2014 surfaced under the rug and just saying it's all good).

icebraining 12y ago
It may be trivial, but it's also often forgotten.
dragontamer 12y ago
Historical dark ages exist. We take progress for granted, because we live in one of the most peaceful times in all of recorded history. But the Dark Ages were periods of centuries, where technology was lost and culture destroyed. Of the seven great novels of the Greeks for example, only two remain: The Odyssy and the Iliad. Look up the history of the Epic Greek tales, and learn just how much has been lost to the ages. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epic_Cycle http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epic_Cycle One day, this great golden age around us will fall. All golden ages fall eventually, and we will lose our culture, our history to a dark age of true war once more. Future historians will look upon these times as the golden age of America. But all empires collapse, and history always cycles between peace and war. And when the age of darkness comes, the current peace we have will be but a legend. For now, we should be happy for the great age we live in, while striving to make it even better than how it is currently.
HCIdivision17 12y ago
I think your point here is a great note on the topic, but sort of misses the very large, loud group of people out there who honestly think the world's improvement has inflected and is now going to hell in a hand basket. As such, I prefer being reminded about how remarkably not-awful things are versus the next pointlessly negative everything's falling apart rhetoric. Mind, that may have to do with where I live, maybe, and I prefer balanced rhetoric. But it's useful to remind people that the general goodness of the world is monotonically increasing (perhaps with a 10-point moving average and a little spot of outlier filtering). And yeah, this sort of conversation is almost necessarily a long-now topic. To talk about it over the course of a few months or just a year is a bit silly - there's a lot of noise. But over many decades and especially centuries, things certainly look better now. Things may be crap now in many ways, but it's only knee-deep crap. In the bad old days people waded through crap up to their eyeballs uphill both ways.
- pluma 12y ago
  Fair enough. Yes, it's not getting worse overall. A lot of the stuff I mentioned wouldn't even have been news-worthy a few centuries ago. But for Europe and the US this was most certainly not the "best year in history", regardless of general positive trends.