Key Posts
This section lists the most popular posts on this blog, as well as those that I think are most important to understanding progress.
- An Introduction to Progress (the best place to start)
- The Five Keys to Progress (the most important concept in understanding the causes of progress)
- What the Progress Studies Community Needs to Do to Grow
- How Do We Measure Progress?
- The Core Tenets of Progress Studies
- Key Questions that Progress Studies Must Answer
- Technological Innovation is Like Solving a Jigsaw Puzzle
Recent Blog Posts
Constraints to the Diffusion of Progress (part 1): Geography, Culture and Monopolies
Progress is spreading throughout the world, but there are still many forces that are constraining its spread. Geographical distance, cultural distance and monopolies are three of the most important constraints.
Key Questions That Progress Studies Must Answer
If Progress Studies is to become a respected discipline, it must first answer key questions related to the concept of progress. So far, it has not done so.
Measuring Progress: Sanitation
Sanitation systems are one of the most important public health innovations in world history. Nobody likes to live surrounded by human waste, and the failure to avoid it is life threatening.
Measuring Progress: Per Capita GDP
Changes in Per Capita GDP is one of the best means to measure progress for nations.
How Do We Measure Progress?
This is part 1 in a series of posts on measuring progress.
“Society Types” Are a Cheat Sheet to Understanding Human History and the Causes of Progress
“Society Types” enable us to understand human history without going through all the trouble of spending decades reading books about the subject.
Copy Your Way to Success
The concept of innovation has been all the rage in 21st Century America. No matter where one looks – books, media or corporate board rooms – there is a focus on this concept. And for good reason. Innovation is critical to progress. I would like to make the claim,...
Searching for the Four Keys to Progress
The search for life on other planets has clear parallels with the search for the causes of progress.
Humanity’s Secret to Success: Cultural Evolution
With Cultural evolution humans could adapt to a rapidly changing environment by copying what works directly rather than exclusively via genes. For this reason, Cultural evolution is critical to understanding the origins of progress.
Technological innovation is like solving a jigsaw puzzle
An interesting analogy for technological innovation is trying to solve a jigsaw puzzle. Each piece of the puzzle represents an existing technology. The finished puzzle represents a new technology. Jigsaw puzzles typically come in boxes that contains all the necessary...