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The Roots of Progress
The story of human progress—and how we can keep it going. Subscribe: Support:
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The Roots of Progress Jan 31
Reminder: I have a ! Just $12/mo and I'll send you a sweet Roots of Progress laptop sticker. Support today to get in the January batch
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Riva Jan 31
The Golden Gate Stem Fair is the Bay Area's regional high school science fair. It touches the lives of thousands of local kids and is at risk this year (again) of not happening due to lack of funds. Can we raise $15k to save it? (retweets appreciated!)
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The Roots of Progress Jan 30
SF folks: Join the local Progress Studies Meetup Group: Next meeting Thurs, Feb 13! Tentative agenda of lightning talks includes the polio vaccine, advances in immunoprofiling, and how to get unstuck from local maxima
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The Roots of Progress Jan 28
Replying to @aymbridge
I don't have a podcast (yet?)
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The Roots of Progress Jan 28
Replying to @tedder42 @tylercowen
Credit to for suggesting that!
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The Roots of Progress Jan 28
Of all the weapons against infectious disease—vaccines, antibiotics, antiseptics, pest control, sanitation, hygiene—which mattered most? To answer the question, we should look at mortality rates over time and correlate them with specific interventions:
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The Roots of Progress Jan 27
I was on 's podcast with . This is a long, involved conversation; we went deep on issues of political and social philosophy. Enjoy!
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Jason Crawford Jan 24
Reminder for folks in SF: This is tonight, 5pm at at Fort Mason! Drink & discuss human progress.
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The Roots of Progress Jan 23
I was interviewed on . In addition to the usual topics, we touched on my research process, and what someone can take away from progress studies if they are interested in contributing to human progress itself
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The Roots of Progress Jan 22
Roots of Progress fans in SF: come to the happy hour this Friday! 5–10pm at
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Jason Crawford Jan 22
This Friday I'm co-hosting the happy hour with ! Join us at from ~5–10pm to discuss and the long-term future
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Jason Crawford Jan 16
What podcasts should I go on to talk about ? Reply and tag a podcast/host you listen to.
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Jason Crawford Jan 13
If you're interested in progress studies, join the Slack! We have general discussion (not too noisy), and it's where we organize local meetups, currently with channels for: Austin Berlin Boston China DC LA Montreal NYC SF Singapore UK
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Jason Crawford Jan 13
The three-way reinforcing cycle between coal, iron, and steam. Now add trains into the mix and you get an even stronger self-reinforcing cycle. The exponential takeoff curve of the Industrial Revolution results from every part of the economy strengthening many other parts 📈
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Jason Crawford Jan 13
This footnote in McCullough's *The Great Bridge* blew my mind. As late as the 1880s, we still didn't know how to build bridges! We would put them up, and many would just collapse.
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Jason Crawford Jan 5
So, let's say it's the 1840s, and you're tasked with building a suspension bridge at Niagara Falls, spanning a gorge almost 800 feet across and over 200 feet deep. How do you get the *first* metal cable across?
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Jason Crawford Jan 4
UK folks: I'm visiting Oxford for a week, tomorrow through Saturday. (Will make a trip or two into London as well) Any progress studies people want to meet up? DM me! Also what should I see/do?
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Jason Crawford Jan 3
One thing I've found by taking a *quantitative* look at infectious disease mortality is that there is a misalignment between which diseases get the spotlight in the history books and which were the worst killers. (Unsurprising in retrospect.)
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The Roots of Progress Jan 2
Replying to @rootsofprogress
Paul explains: “The whole of the part on the right moves back and forth. In the position it is in the photo, the threads are spun. Then it moves to the left and the spun thread is rolled onto spindles. It then pulls out the next lot of unspun cotton and repeats”
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The Roots of Progress Jan 2
Spinning jenny with 100 spindles at Quarry Bank, a restored cotton mill in Manchester, England, originally built in 1784. This was first driven by a water wheel, later a steam engine. (Photo credit: Paul McLellan)
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