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Is the world getting better or worse? A look at the numbers | Steven Pinker

TED · talk · Watch on YouTube

Futurism & technology and societyWorld historyData visualization & information design

What it is

Steven Pinker's TED talk presents data on homicide, war, poverty and pollution to argue that the world has improved over the past decades. He frames progress as problem-solving, not inevitability.

Why Hacker News recommends it

Cited as a data-backed counter to doom and pessimism about the state of the world.

  • 2 people recommended it
  • 2 different months
  • 0 strong recommendations
  • first 2018, last 2022

What HN commenters said

  1. “here are some cool TED talks [5][6]”

    TED talk arguing with data that the world is improving.

    JoshCole, 2018-05 · Recommendation · in “Tesla that crashed in Autopilot mode sped up before hitting truck: police”

  2. “tl;dr: it's getting better. We're living longer, homicides are down, fewer wars and autocracies, etc..”

    Numbers showing longer lives, fewer homicides, wars and autocracies.

    blippage, 2021-07 · Recommendation · in “Americans' life ratings reach record high”

Excerpts from Hacker News comments, linked to the originals. Summaries and labels were written by a language model from those comments.

Topics: steven pinker, ted, statistics, optimism, history

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