The article outlines the monumental transformations in human life over the past millennium, emphasizing the measurable changes every 100 years. In 1025, life was agrarian, with low literacy and short life expectancy. Through the Middle Ages, incremental improvements occurred, with notable events like the formation of universities and the advent of the printing press leading to a slightly improved quality of life. The introduction of the Life Difference Metric by Alvin Toffler allows a quantifiable assessment of these changes. The piece invites speculation on the implications of such rapid advancements for the future of humanity.
In 1025, most people lived agrarian lives tied to the natural rhythms of the seasons. Literacy was rare, and life expectancy hovered around 30 to 35 years.
The societal structure was rigid, dominated by feudalism in Europe and other hierarchical systems elsewhere, keeping daily life brutally hard for the average person.
Alvin Toffler's Future Shock introduces a 'Life Difference Metric' (LDM) to quantify changes in human experience, allowing us to measure advancements over time.
Incremental improvements continued as the first universities began forming by 1225, but changes in daily life still remained marginal, only rising the LDM to 3 percent.
#technological-evolution #quality-of-life #life-difference-metric #historical-shifts #human-progress
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