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Things are getting better
Old 01-01-2016, 10:56 AM   #1
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Things are getting better

Start out the new year on a positive note:

26 charts and maps that show the world is getting much, much better - Vox

Question: If a gloom & doom type clicks on this link will it make them gloomier or happier?
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Old 01-01-2016, 11:08 AM   #2
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Thanks for sharing.
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Old 01-01-2016, 11:14 AM   #3
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Thanks. Always happy to see the good news instead of the doom and gloom.
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Old 01-01-2016, 11:23 AM   #4
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Thank you. Now if we could only have media in general play along...
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Old 01-01-2016, 11:27 AM   #5
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Great info, thanks for posting.
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Old 01-01-2016, 11:54 AM   #6
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I'm not so sure about that height chart. Seems I got left behind in the year 1900 according to one height history chart.

Overall it pays to be optimistic. Good thread here.
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Old 01-01-2016, 12:02 PM   #7
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Originally Posted by Lsbcal View Post

Overall it pays to be optimistic.
Unfortunately there is evidence to the contrary - but I'll trade some time for happiness.

Pessimism About the Future May Lead to Longer, Healthier Life, Research Finds
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Old 01-01-2016, 12:20 PM   #8
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Thanks, very interesting.

One nit to pick - their math (or chart) can't be right:

Quote:
the teen birth rate has fallen so fast — 38.4 percent annually between 2007 and 2013
I think they need to take out the 'annually'.

And I'm just curious as to why homicide is so much higher in US (though going down, which is good)? I'm guessing 'access to guns' isn't the full answer.

And I'm not too worried if Moore's Law is slowing. Even if progress of that measure slows (number of transistors per chip), there is so much that can be done with the current technology, and improvements made in how it is used and packaged. Software can be improved in efficiency a lot, I think present programming methods have lots of trade-offs.

The chart on Solar power getting cheaper isn't really such great news though. The cost decline of the actual solar cell itself has really flattened, and is now a relatively small part of the overall installed cost. The cost of the other pieces (metal racks, wiring, inverters, labor), are flattening as well, and aren't really candidates for big improvements, and labor will likely go up.

But lots of positives there.

-ERD50
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Very Encouraging!
Old 01-01-2016, 12:37 PM   #9
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Very Encouraging!

Thanks for posting this. Reading this was a great way to start off 2016.

I don't have kids, but most members of my extended family do, and there have been times recently when I have felt quite discouraged about the world they (and all other kids) are inheriting.

I'm feeling more hopeful after reading the charts.
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Old 01-01-2016, 12:38 PM   #10
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Wow, you really know how to ruin a grouch's day.

Nice to see some good news for a change.
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Old 01-01-2016, 12:39 PM   #11
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Thank you. Now if we could only have media in general play along...
Never going to happen. "If it bleeds, it leads" and variations on that theme. Sad but true.
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Old 01-01-2016, 12:43 PM   #12
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Good post, thanks. It is encouraging and a little surprising (I would not have guessed #14, but listening to "news" will do that these days?). Wonder how long the trend in #9 will continue, we may all be giants one day.
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Old 01-01-2016, 12:50 PM   #13
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Thank you. Now if we could only have media in general play along...
One of the reasons I keep a subscription to the local small town newspaper is that they do make an effort to report on the good news, so reading it is not always a downer.
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Old 01-01-2016, 02:03 PM   #14
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One of the reasons I keep a subscription to the local small town newspaper is that they do make an effort to report on the good news, so reading it is not always a downer.
I have a webpage named "Good News" bookmarked, and I try to visit it every day, to counterbalance all the other stuff I hear on a daily basis. It helps.
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Old 01-01-2016, 02:23 PM   #15
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Good charts and subsequent links to individual articles at the end. The world has become safer and generally kinder and gentler place over the years. Hard to convince many of it though, and obviously, still a long way to go.
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Old 01-01-2016, 03:54 PM   #16
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I have a webpage named "Good News" bookmarked, and I try to visit it every day, to counterbalance all the other stuff I hear on a daily basis. It helps.
I make a point of reading the comic strips. Like here:
GoComics.com - Your source for the best online comic strips around.
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Old 01-01-2016, 04:07 PM   #17
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I read "The Better Angels...", and mention it often when ever people start going on about how the world is going to hell in a hand basket. The book was, let's call it, "thorough" though....took a while to get through. The message was proven quite convincingly.
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Old 01-01-2016, 06:18 PM   #18
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I make a point of reading the comic strips. Like here:
GoComics.com - Your source for the best online comic strips around.
Ahhh, yes! A daily dose of Dilbert always does the trick.
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Old 01-01-2016, 06:30 PM   #19
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Old 01-01-2016, 09:19 PM   #20
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And I'm just curious as to why homicide is so much higher in US (though going down, which is good)? I'm guessing 'access to guns' isn't the full answer.

-ERD50
Just a thought, but I think ethnically and culturally homogenous societies seem to be the happiest and most peaceable. Obviously that's not a description of the US of A. Diversity has its advantages as well, but tranquility is not one of them. IMO.
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