The cure for cognitive fallacies is data, and the trend lines are unequivocal. On average, people are living longer, healthier, richer, safer, freer, more literate, and more peaceful lives. While past performance is no guarantee of future returns, the world is not Wall Street. We are unlikely to wake up one morning and face a world with smallpox, slave auctions, or surgery without anaesthetics.

From: Do Humankind’s Best Days Lie Ahead? The Munk Debates
By: Alain de Botton   Malcolm Gladwell   Matt Ridley   Steven Pinker