Progress

During the pandemic, I became fascinated by the idea of progress. Not just in terms of finishing off today’s checklist, but in the scope of humanity. At this point, we know that the course of history is constantly changing, but we have yet to quantify these effects on a microscopic level.

Some questions:

  • How long does it take to create change?

  • How can we think about progress in order to build better products?

As far as I know, these questions have no simple answers. After all, the idea of progress studies is nascent. Over time, however, I’m optimistic that we’ll be able to attribute singular human inputs to trends that occur on a planetary level. For example, as you can see in the chart below, child and infant mortality have decreased dramatically since the 1800s.

There is clearly a shift happening, but what actually occurred in order to cause the rapid decline in child mortality? Research suggests that rising prosperity and global access to improved healthcare may play a role.

I’m an easy audience for any societal trend that involves world data, and believe that the biggest innovations over the next 100 years will be highly intertwined with undercurrents that have yet to take shape. Here are a few charts I find interesting.

The rate of growth of Earth’s population is projected to decrease in the coming years. Why is this? Is it cultural? Physical? And what does this mean for current-day towns and cities? How should we prepare for something like this?

It might seem like long hours equate to greater financial impact. But this chart shows that this may not actually be the case. In fact, some of the lowest GDP in the world is recorded in places where workers are pushed to the limit.

Extreme hypothetical: If all humans worked the same hours every day, what would this chart look like?

What a difference! This chart shows areas of the planet where internet usage is most pervasive. In most cases, usage is a product of access. Interestingly, countries with high internet usage tend to have a high GDP. Coincidence? Perhaps the internet is still the greatest opportunity of our lifetime.

What can we do to increase internet access and human connectivity across the globe?

If you would like to get involved with the science of progress, feel free to get in touch as I’d love to explore this further.