Why subscribe?

My background is in physics (D.Phil.) and Information Technology (AI and healthcare Information Governance).

I aim to cover a wide variety of topics with an emphasis on understanding what data tells us about the world today. Some of the conclusions may make uncomfortable reading since the gap between the media narrative and reality can be shockingly large.

For example, did you know that 80% of Met Office weather stations are classified by international standards from the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) as 'junk' or 'near junk'? Full details here.

I have been strongly influenced by the work of Dr. Hans Rosling (e.g. The best stats you've ever seen) and much later reading his book Factfulness. Dr Rosling showed that by every meaningful measure of human progress, life has improved across the globe.

In the same vein I recommend reading Matt Ridley’s book the Rational Optimist. To quote from Steven Pinker's comment:

For two hundred years the pessimists have dominated public discourse, insisting that things will soon be getting much worse. But in fact, life is getting better—and at an accelerating rate. Food availability, income, and life span are up; disease, child mortality, and violence are down all across the globe. Africa is following Asia out of poverty; the Internet, the mobile phone, and container shipping are enriching people's lives as never before.

I also discovered two amazing websites that provide copious data to support the thesis that things are getting better: HumanProgress.org and Our World In Data. The former aims to highlight the gap between reality of human experience and public perception:

To rectify the widely held misperceptions about the state of humanity, we have gathered empirical data from reliable sources that look at worldwide long-term trends. By putting together these comprehensive data in an accessible way, our goal is to provide a useful resource for students, scholars, journalists, policymakers, and the general public.

The latter does not make light of the problems we face but believes that a key reason why we fail to achieve the progress we are capable of is that we do not make enough use of existing research and data.

The final driver for this blog has been the increasing attack on free speech by a vocal but small section of society, supported in their endeavours by much of the media who seem to have lost all objectivity. Investigative journalism now takes a very distant backseat to propaganda for progressive causes.

I hope you will find this substack a useful antidote to the mainstream narrative and find some comfort and relief from the mental stress that it causes. Unfortunately, if you are like me you may find that you end up replacing one source of stress with another when you realise how much we are being lied to. If you do please considering sharing this substack with family and friends to expand the conversation.

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As well as publishing video posts here I also have a YouTube channel here:

https://www.youtube.com/@baffledbyscience

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