“A brighter outlook” | David Dodwell

Click above to enlarge. Online here

David Dodwell mentions Steven Pinker, his article not his books. I’ve read a number of his books, like “Better Angels of our Nature” and “Enlightenment Now”. Pinker is the grand-father of the “things-are-better-than-you-think” genre. 

I’ve tried out telling house guests how good things are. Never works. The default mode, at least of my house guests, who almost all lean Left, is that things are bad and getting worse. The data say otherwise. But I’ve learnt that people don’t really care about “The Science”, especially when data goes against fixed feelings. Feelings don’t care about data.