Here is a link to the book on amazon.

Chapter 1 – A better today (Page 37-38)

That is the magic that exchange and specialisation have wrought for the human species. ‘In civilized society,’ wrote Adam Smith, an individual ‘stands at all times in need of the co-operation and assistance of great multitudes , while his whole life is scarce sufficient to gain the friendship of a few persons.

pg.37

This is what I mean by the collective brain. As Fried Hayek first clearly saw, knowledge ‘never exists in concentres or integrated form but solely as the dispersed bits of incompin and frequently contradictory knowledge which all the sepa individuals possess

pg.38

Chapter 2 – The Collective Brain

Whereas other primates have guts weighing four times their brains, the human brain weighs more than the human intestine. Cooking enabled hominids to trade gut size for brain size.

pg.51

Exchange is to technology as sex is to evolution

pg.71

Chapter 3 – The Manufacture of Virtue

Oxytocin is a physiological signature of empathy

pg.94

A general definition of Oxytocin below;

… a neuropeptide hormone that acts as a chemical messenger in the brain and plays a key role in social bonding, sexual reproduction, and childbirth. It is often referred to as the “love hormone” or “cuddle hormone” due to its association with emotional bonding and attachment.

Chapter 4 – The Feeding of Nine Billion

Countries like Cyprus, Israel and Jordan are already heavy users of drip irrigation.

pg.148

A breif summary of what drip irrigation is;

Drip irrigation is a watering technique that delivers a controlled amount of water directly to the base of each plant, typically through a network of tubing with emitters. This efficient method reduces water waste and promotes healthier plant growth by minimizing evaporation and targeting the roots. Drip irrigation is widely used in agriculture and landscaping to conserve water and optimize irrigation practices.

Intensive yields are the way to get there

pg.149

Intensive yields refer to agricultural production methods aimed at maximizing output from a given area of land…

Chapter 5 – The Triumph of Cities

The Phoenicians seem to have managed to resist the temptations of turning into thieves, priests and chiefs

pg.170

The Phoenicians were an ancient Semitic-speaking maritime civilization that originated in the region of what is now Lebanon. Renowned as adept sailors and traders, they established numerous colonies and trading posts throughout the Mediterranean, contributing significantly to the development of navigation, trade, and early urbanization in the area. Phoenician city-states, such as Tyre, Sidon, and Byblos, played a crucial role in the ancient world’s trade networks, engaging in activities such as purple dye production, shipbuilding, and commerce. Their cultural and economic influence extended across the Mediterranean, leaving a lasting legacy in the annals of history.

‘Humanity’s great battle over the last 10,000 years has been the battle against monopoly.’

pg.172

Chapter 6- Escaping Malthus’s Trap

Fecundity – the ability to produce an abundance of offspring

In the context of “Malthus’s Trap,” it refers to the theory proposed by Thomas Malthus, an English economist and demographer, in his work “An Essay on the Principle of Population.” Malthus suggested that population growth tends to outpace the growth of resources, leading to inevitable social and economic struggles. This concept became known as the “Malthusian Trap,” where population growth could potentially lead to overpopulation, poverty, and societal challenges due to limited resources and food supply.

Chapter 7- The Release of Slaves

Malthusian – population growth is potentially exponential

Reductio and absurdum– logical argumentative technique where you refuse a statement by showing its logical conclusions leads to an absurdity.

Chapter 8- The invention of invention

The dissemination of useful knowledge causes that useful knowledge to breed more useful knowledge.

pg.249

‘Nothing ensures but change.’

Heraclitus

Heraclitus was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher known for his doctrine of change being central to the universe. He is famously quoted as saying, “You cannot step into the same river twice,” emphasizing the ever-changing nature of reality. Heraclitus believed in the unity of opposites and the constant flux of the universe. His philosophical ideas greatly influenced later thinkers and have left a lasting impact on the development of Western philosophy.

Innovation is like a bush fire that burns brightly for a short time, then dies down before flaring up somewhere else.

At 50,000 years ago, the hottest hot-spot was west Asia (ovens, bows-and-arrows),

at 10,000 the Fertile Crescent (farming, pottery),

at 5,000 Mesopotamia (metal, cities),

at 2,000 India (textiles, zero),

at 1,000 China (porcelain, printing),

at 500 Italy (double-entry book-keeping, Leonardo),

at 400 the Low Countries (the Amsterdam Exchange Bank),

at 300 France (Canal du Midi),

at 200 England (steam),

at 100 Germany (fertiliser);

at 75 America (mass production),

at 50 California (credit card),

at 25 Japan (Walkman).

No country remains for long the leader in knowledge creation. At first blush, this is surprising, especially if increasing returns to innovation are possible. Why must the torch be passed elsewhere at all? As I have argued in the previous three chapters, the answer lies in two phenomena: institutions and population.

In the past, when societies gorged on innovation, they soon allowed their babies to grow too numerous for their land, reducing the leisure, wealth and market that inventon needed (in effect, the merchant’s sons became struggling peasants again).

Or they allowed their bureaucrats to write too many rules, their chiefs to wage too many wars, or their priests to build too many monasteries (in effect, the merchants’ sam became soldiers, sybarites or monks).

Or they sank into finance and became parasitic rentiers. As Joel Mokyr puts it: Prosperty and success led to the emergence of predators and parasites in various forms and guises who eventually slaughtered the goo that laid the golden eggs. Again and again, the flame of inve tion would splutter and die.. only to flare up elsewhere. To good news is that there is always a new torch lit.

pg.252

Thrall – The state of being in someone’s power

Chapter 9- Turning points

I have observed that not the man who hopes when others despair, but the man who despairs when others hope, is admired by a large class of persons as a sage.

John Stuart Mill; pg.279

John Stuart Mill was a prominent British philosopher, political economist, and civil servant. He is renowned for his significant contributions to the fields of political theory, ethics, and economics. Mill was a staunch advocate of individual rights and personal freedoms, and his influential work “On Liberty” remains a cornerstone of liberal political philosophy. As a utilitarian thinker, he sought to maximize overall happiness and well-being in society.

The speech on ‘perfectibility‘ referred to in the book “The Rational Optimist” discusses the idea that human society and capabilities are not fixed, but continuously improving. It explores the concept that through innovation, trade, and cooperation, humans have the ability to continually enhance their circumstances and well-being.

‘Implicit confidence in the beneficence of progress’ said Hayek, ‘has come to be regarded as the sign of a shallow mind.’

pg.280

Chapter 9- Turning points (p.282)

85 million barrels a day.

pg.282; on the number of barrels of oil used.

apocryphally – of doubtful authenticity

Dyspeptic– consequent air of irritable bad temper

Ubiquitous – ever present , found everywhere

Vociferous– expressing or characterised by vehement opinions; loud and forceful

Castigates – reprimand severely. Formal expression of disapproval

Pessimism has always been big box office. It plays into what Greg Easterbrook calls ‘the collective refusal to believe that lie is getting better.

pg.294

Chapter 10- the two great pessimisms of today

Optimists are dismissed as fools, pessimists as sages, by a media that likes to be spoon-fed on scary press releases. That does not make the optimists right, but the poor track record of pessimists should at least give one pause. After all, we have been here before.

pg.341