Column

Mathias Sundin 3 min read

πŸ˜’ It was the worst of times

When was the worst music produced? Now! Most crime? Now! Worst movies? Now! Worst morality? Now! In area after area, people think the worst time is now β€” a completely bizarre view.

Mathias Sundin 2 min read

🚱 We pay to live without electricity and water, that's how good our lives are

How crazy is it to pay to be without electricity and running water? That's my first thought when I read about Kyrkestatorpet, where you can "live as the crofters did in the past." But then I think about the effects that might come from a visit to an outhouse...

Mathias Sundin 2 min read

☯️ Bad and better – at the same time

For the first time, fewer than five million children are dying per year. Fantastic! But... nearly five million dead children, terrible! Hans Rosling taught us that something can be bad and get better at the same time.

Mathias Sundin 4 min read

πŸ’ͺ The raw power of human progress

In the 21st century, we've experienced terrorism, natural disasters, wars, financial crises, and a global pandemic. Why are we not living in a Mad Max world?

Mathias Sundin 4 min read

3️⃣ Three steps to become a fact-based optimist

Does it feel like the world is filled with horrors and almost nothing good happens? The terrible things are just one part of reality. To discover the other part, you need a different perspective. One that makes you feel better but also helps you see opportunities that pessimists overlook.

Mathias Sundin 4 min read

🌍 Stop saving the world

If the world needs saving, it means that it is falling apart. On the contrary, the world is getting better.

Mathias Sundin 4 min read

🚒 How a box and a truck driver made the world smaller and the global economy bigger

Loading a medium-sized ship with loose cargo cost $5.86 per ton in 1956. If you instead used containers for the cargo, the cost dropped to 16 cents. This breakthrough dramatically changed the world in the second half of the 20th century.

WALL-Y 3 min read

πŸ€– WALL-Y: Marc Andreessen is a breath of fresh, silicon-scented air​

Andreessen outlines a future where AI is the Robin to every Batman, the Watson to every Holmes, the Alfred to every Batman - yes, Batman's so cool he gets two sidekicks.

Mathias Sundin 5 min read

πŸ“½οΈ Walt Disney is my role model - he should be Bob Iger's too

Walt Disney broke new ground throughout his life. Disney is today a huge entertainment company, but hasn't broken new ground in a long time.