Future Is Better Than You Think

Future is Better Than You Think is a book written by Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler and published in 2012. They propose that even though there has been tremendous illness, natural destruction, and human violence throughout human history the global standard of living continues to increase due to technological change. It is their assertion that cognitive biases keep us from appreciating these changes and planning for them.


Time magazine wrote of the book's message: "The future is going to be better than you think. That might be hard to believe given the constant stream of dread that is the daily news—and the endless well of fear that seems to be the future—but a close look at the numbers indicates that things are better than we believe."
The Washington Post said the book is, "a heavy dose of optimism... The authors make a persuasive case that mankind’s future may not be as bleak as we fear..."
The San Francisco Chronicle said that the book's authors "argue forcefully against two prevailing notions: that the world's resources are being depleted too rapidly, and that the gap between the rich and the poor is widening beyond repair. They cite the rise of do-it-yourself innovation, fabulously rich 'technophilanthropists' who intend to use their deep pockets to change the world, and what they've termed the 'rising billion': the world's poor, who, thanks to modern communication technology, now have a voice."
The Wall St. Journal wrote, "Diamandis and Kotler think that individual innovators can and will make huge differences to human living standards... Take Iqbal Quadir, who quit his job as a venture capitalist in New York to start a cellphone company in his native Bangladesh, at a time when cellphones cost nearly twice the annual income of the average Bangladeshi. He had the foresight to bet on falling costs and the usefulness of the new technology for the long-isolated rural poor."