One of the great publishing events in all of history was the French Encyclopédie of the eighteenth century, edited by Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond D’Alembert. It was a massive project: many authors, 71,818 articles and 3,129 illustrations, published in 28 volumes over 25 years. During my working visit to Guatemala, Luis Figueroa took […]
The Encyclopédie and I Read More »
Something to be thankful for: All those productive people who created the wealth that has enable so many of us to live longer and more fully. I love this data map from Gapminder correlating life expectancy with wealth (click for full size): And encouraging numbers over at Forbes (via R.M.): Avik Roy looks at cancer
Thankful: wealth and life expectancy Read More »
Count me a huge fan of Rosling’s work: See also his “200 countries, 200 years, 4 minutes.”
Hans Rosling’s magic washing machine Read More »
Simply wonderful, both in content and presentation: Related posts: Why life is 255 times better now than in 1800. Why life in America is 40 times better than in 1900. Why the nano is 750 times better than the Walkman. [Via Café Hayek.]
Hans Rosling’s newest Read More »
Stephen Hicks discusses the Enlightenment vision of the eighteenth-century. This is from Part 14 of his Philosophy of Education course. Clips 1-3: Previous: What modernism is. Next: Post-modernism’s themes. Return to the Philosophy of Education page. Return to the StephenHicks.org main page.
The Enlightenment vision Read More »
Some wise words from Deirdre McCloskey, for those who fear that things were healthier in the good old days and that we are degrading our environment and living less authentic lives: “‘Ah, but the environment was better.’ Briefly for now, no. Consider that you may be mistaken. Air quality during the past fifty years has
Capitalism versus the good old days Read More »
I’m reading Steven Johnson’s The Invention of Air, which is primarily about the Joseph Priestley, the great chemist and adviser to the American founding fathers. Along the way, Johnson quotes historian Tom Standage: “The impact of the introduction of coffee into Europe during the seventeenth century was particularly noticeable since the most common beverages of
Coffee and the Enlightenment Read More »
Popular Science‘s “Looking Back at the 100 Best Innovations of 2009.”
Bridge over the Colorado River Read More »