For millennia, everything sucked. Then something magical happened!
What do you think the most significant precipitating factor(s) was/were? Please share your views in the comments!
Chart prepared by Luke Muehlhauser
A Logarithmic Scale Suggests the Enlightenment as the Original Precipitating Factor
Plotting this on a logarithmic scale suggests the first consistent upticks came around the advent of the Scientific method and the Enlightenment (1500 AD) and then the exploded at the industrial revolution.
![](https://thinkbynumbers.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/trends-in-human-well-being-logarithmic.png)
Important Historical Events
![](https://thinkbynumbers.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/trends-in-human-well-being-with-events-1024x664.png)