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Lesson Plan: Your Life in Numbers

Blog Post | Economic Growth

Lesson Plan: Your Life in Numbers

In this lesson, you will learn how key indicators of progress have changed during your lifetime.

You can find a PDF of this lesson plan here.

Lesson Overview

“Is life getting better or worse?” That is the question posed by the site Your Life in Numbers by HumanProgress.org

How do you measure progress? One way is by looking at the data: examine average longevity, infant mortality, income, food supply, years of schooling, and level of democracy.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how these measures have changed during your lifetime and compare your results with people in other countries.

Warm-up

Is life getting better or worse? Why do you think so?

Where did your opinion about the state of the world come from? Has it been influenced by the news? By family, friends, teachers, or others?

Make a prediction. Write this sentence: “The average income of a person in __________ (your country) increased/decreased in the last 15 years.” Fill in the blank and choose one: increased or decreased.

Questions for reading, writing, and discussion

Go to Your Life in Numbers. Read the first section and answer these questions:

  • What does ‘average’ mean? Write the definition in your own words and then check it here.
  • When thinking about people’s lives, what are some of the advantages and disadvantages of looking at averages?
  • Examine the data in the first section. In worldwide terms, how have circumstances changed on the following measures since 1950? Circle either increased or decreased.
    • Average life expectancy: increased/decreased
    • Average infant mortality: increased/decreased
    • Income per person: increased/decreased
    • Food supply per person: increased/decreased
    • Average years of schooling: increased/decreased
    • Level of democracy: increased/decreased
  • Which worldwide development cited in the first section surprised you the most? Which development were you already aware of?

Complete Step 1: Select Birth Year and Step 2: Select Your Country of Birth

  • On which of the six measures, if any, has life improved on average in your country over your lifetime? Be specific.
  • On which of the six measures, if any, has life gotten worse on average in your country over your lifetime? Be specific.
  • On which of the six measures has there been no change in your country during your lifetime? Be specific.

Complete Step 3: Select a Country to Compare. Look at the differences and similarities between your country and the other country on the graph. Read the statistics in the table below the graph. (Countries may also be assigned by your teacher)

Extension Activity/Homework

Option 1: Write an essay in which you address these questions:

  • How has life changed in your country over your lifetime?
  • How do the changes in your country compare to changes in another country of your choice during the same period?

In your essay, be sure to answer these questions:

  • With which country are you comparing your experience? Name the other country.
  • Answer these questions about that country:
    • On which of the six measures, if any, has life improved on average in that country over your lifetime? Be specific.
    • On which of the six measures, if any, has life gotten worse on average in that country over your lifetime? Be specific.
    • On which of the six measures has there been no change in that country during your lifetime? Be specific.
    • Which institution, norms or principles helped account for the progress, or lack thereof, in the countries you examined?
  • What conclusions can you draw from making these comparisons between your experience and that of a person born in the same year in __________ (name of country)?
  • What surprised you about these results? How have your views of your own country changed? How have your views of the other country changed?
  • What do you think accounts for the differences and similarities between your country and __________ (name of country) over your lifetime?

Option 2: Create a presentation using above essay criteria as a guide and present to class.

Option 3: Create a presentation using essay criteria and make a short video. Post on classdiscussion board and then view and comment on another classmate’s presentation.

Blog Post | Science & Education

Introducing Our Upcoming Book, Heroes of Progress

Over the past two centuries, humanity has become massively more prosperous, better educated, healthier, and more peaceful.

The underlying cause of this progress is innovation. Human innovation―whether it be new ideas, inventions, or systems―is the primary way people create wealth and escape poverty.

Our upcoming book, Heroes of Progress: 65 People Who Changed the World, explores the lives of the most important innovators who have ever lived, from agronomists who saved billions from starvation and intellectuals who changed public policy for the better, to businesspeople whose innovations helped millions rise from poverty.

If it weren’t for the heroes profiled in this book, we’d all be far poorer, sicker, hungrier, and less free―if we were fortunate enough to be alive at all.

Considering their impact on humanity, perhaps it’s time to learn their story?

Heroes of Progress book advertised on Amazon for pre-order

Heroes of Progress Book Forum

On March 21st, the author of Heroes of Progress, Alexander Hammond, will present the book live at the Cato Institute in Washington, D.C. He will be joined by Marian Tupy, the editor of Human Progress, and Clay Routledge, the Archbridge Institute’s Vice President of Research, who will speak on the individual’s role in advancing human progress and the need for a cultural progress movement.

Learn more about the event here.

Praise for Heroes of Progress

Making an inspiring case for progress at this time of skepticism and historical ingratitude is no easy feat. Yet, by relentlessly outlining the extraordinary ability of individuals to shape our world for the better, Alexander Hammond does just that.

Steven Pinker, author of Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress

Innovation is a team sport achieved by people working together, using precious freedoms to change the world, so it’s sometimes invidious to single out one person for credit. But once an idea is ripe for plucking, the right person at the right time can seize it and save a million lives or open a million possibilities. Each of these 65 people did that, and their stories are both thrilling and beautiful.

Matt Ridley, author of How Innovation Works: And Why It Flourishes in Freedom

The figures in this book are the overlooked and often unknown figures who have transformed the lives of ordinary people, for the better… This book is a correction to widespread pessimism and is both informative and inspirational.

Dr. Stephen Davies, author of The Wealth Explosion: The Nature and Origins of Modernity

Superman and the Avengers are all very well, of course, but the real superheroes are thinkers, scientists, and innovators of flesh and blood who saved us from a life that used to be poor, nasty, brutish, and short. Alexander Hammond tells their inspiring stories in this magnificent book that will leave you grateful to be living in the world these men and women created.

— Johan Norberg, author of Open: The Story of Human Progress

The 65 innovators honored here made us happier, healthier, and longer-lived. Indeed, it is thanks to some of them that we are here at all. Their story is the story of how the human race acquired powers once attributed to gods and sorcerers―the story of how we overcame hunger, disease, ignorance, and squalor. I defy anyone to read this book and not feel better afterwards.

Lord Daniel Hannan, president of the Institute for Free Trade

The 65 fascinating stories in Heroes of Progress are
testaments to the ingenuity of humankind in delivering a richer,
healthier, and hopefully freer world. Alexander C. R. Hammond
provides an inspirational reminder that when individuals are
free to speak, think, innovate, and engage in open markets, the
heroic potential of humanity knows no bounds.

Lord Syed Kamall, Professor of politics and international relations, St. Mary’s University

In Heroes of Progress, Alexander Hammond reminds us that human minds are the fundamental driver of every discovery, invention, and innovation that has improved our lives. By telling the stories of pioneering men and women who have advanced civilization, this book not only honors past heroes of progress, but also provides inspiration for the next generation to use their uniquely human imaginative and enterprising capacities to build a better future.

— Clay Routledge, Vice President of Research and Director of the Human Flourishing Lab at the Archbridge Institute

Blog Post | Human Development

1,000 Bits of Good News You May Have Missed in 2023

A necessary balance to the torrent of negativity.

Reading the news can leave you depressed and misinformed. It’s partisan, shallow, and, above all, hopelessly negative. As Steven Pinker from Harvard University quipped, “The news is a nonrandom sample of the worst events happening on the planet on a given day.”

So, why does Human Progress feature so many news items? And why did I compile them in this giant list? Here are a few reasons:

  • Negative headlines get more clicks. Promoting positive stories provides a necessary balance to the torrent of negativity.
  • Statistics are vital to a proper understanding of the world, but many find anecdotes more compelling.
  • Many people acknowledge humanity’s progress compared to the past but remain unreasonably pessimistic about the present—not to mention the future. Positive news can help improve their state of mind.
  • We have agency to make the world better. It is appropriate to recognize and be grateful for those who do.

Below is a nonrandom sample (n = ~1000) of positive news we collected this year, separated by topic area. Please scroll, skim, and click. Or—to be even more enlightened—read this blog post and then look through our collection of long-term trends and datasets.

Agriculture

Aquaculture

Farming robots and drones

Food abundance

Genetic modification

Indoor farming

Lab-grown produce

Pollination

Other innovations

Conservation and Biodiversity

Big cats

Birds

Turtles

Whales

Other comebacks

Forests

Reefs

Rivers and lakes

Surveillance and discovery

Rewilding and conservation

De-extinction

Culture and tolerance

Gender equality

General wellbeing

LGBT

Treatment of animals

Energy and natural Resources

Fission

Fusion

Fossil fuels

Other energy

Recycling and resource efficiency

Resource abundance

Environment and pollution

Climate change

Disaster resilience

Air pollution

Water pollution

Growth and development

Education

Economic growth

Housing and urbanization

Labor and employment

Health

Cancer

Disability and assistive technology

Dementia and Alzheimer’s

Diabetes

Heart disease and stroke

Other non-communicable diseases

HIV/AIDS

Malaria

Other communicable diseases

Maternal care

Fertility and birth control

Mental health and addiction

Weight and nutrition

Longevity and mortality 

Surgery and emergency medicine

Measurement and imaging

Health systems

Other innovations

Freedom

    Technology 

    Artificial intelligence

    Communications

    Computing

    Construction and manufacturing

    Drones

    Robotics and automation

    Autonomous vehicles

    Transportation

    Other innovations

    Science

    AI in science

    Biology

    Chemistry and materials

      Physics

      Space

      Violence

      Crime

      War

      Bloomberg | Life Expectancy

      The Biggest Breakthrough in Longevity May Start with Menopause

      “As Pepin and other scientists finally begin to unravel what makes the reproductive system age so rapidly, they’re also uncovering a tantalizing possibility: There may be ways to slow that aging down. Not only could this extend a woman’s childbearing years, it could dramatically improve women’s health, staving off the ill effects associated with the onset of menopause. Research has shown that women who go through menopause later in life tend to live longer.”

      From Bloomberg.