I just skimmed Gregg Easterbrook's "The Progress Paradox." Some interesting facts-
*Today, the world life expectancy is 66- while the US life expectancy was 41 in 1900 (77 now).
*The age-adjusted, population-adjusted cancer rate has fallen since 1993. (I knew cancer deaths had declined, but didn't think cancer incidence had).
*Californians spend more time inside their cars than outdoors.
*In 1850, the typical American was twice as likely to be the target of a lawsuit as an American today.
*Global adult literacy was 47 percent in 1970 and 73 percent today.
Posted by lewyn
at 9:54 PM EDT
