It's trendy to be pessimistic about the future. We hear daily about the looming threats from global warming, terrorist plots, nuclear proliferation, overpopulation, and other frightening possibilities. It's also easy to point to the unprecedented toll of destruction during the two world wars of the twentieth century and conclude that the prospects for global civilization rest on pretty shaky ground.While discounting neither the calamities of the past nor the troubling realities on the horizon, social psychologist Ronald G. Havelock looks at the same facts but sees a different, much more optimistic trend. He calls it the forward function, a cluster of six forces that has driven human progress from the Stone Age to the present.In this engaging and positive---yet realistic---appraisal of the human condition, Havelock examines in detail these six compelling forces. And he reveals the key to humanity's past and future success: the uniquely human ability to externalize knowledge.In light of the forward function that is not just fueling but actually accelerating human progress, Havelock shows that the rampant fears for our future are wildly exaggerated and overlook both our knowledge resources at hand and our ingenuity in using those resources for individual and planetary well-being. As Acceleration clearly demonstrates, our outlook should be brighter, for humanity's future on Earth is by no means dim.There are two sides to every coin, but as of late, we seem to be looking only at the down side of human progress. We see proliferation of nuclear arms, environmental crises, and daunting overpopulation on a global scale. So we ask ourselves, how did things get this bad, and how could they possibly get better?But we are looking at only half of the picture, and we're asking the wrong questions. We overlook the fact that since the first use of atomic warfare there has not been another. We forget that we are continually working to make more efficient use of our current sources of energy and to discover new, renewable, resources. We forget about our increased abilities to produce and distribute food and medical care worldwide. In short, we overlook the overwhelming progress that we have made so far---and that we continue to make as we face larger and more complex obstacles.As social psychologist Ronald G. Havelock makes clear, our progress is limited only by our imagination. This has been especially evident in the last two hundred years, when the scientific revolution has produced an explosive growth of knowledge building and application of that knowledge to ever-expanding and diversifying human needs.Today, the most exciting and hopeful development is that the transfer of scientific and cultural knowledge is increasingly not just from generation to generation but also within generations and across cultures. And it extends from the rich to the middle class and even to the poor. The primary consequence of such knowledge expansion is the empowerment of those who can understand it and use it, which results in the creation of a better life for more and more people.Grounded in a wealth of solid research, this optimistic outlook on human destiny offers a realistic hope that we human beings are fully capable of solving even our most challenging problems. Read Less