The key to being a climate doomster is to take for granted every aspect of human progress over the past 300 years and tell yourself it would have happened anyway even without fossil fuels, then focus on imagined horrors that might happen in the future if the overheated model projections all come true and no one bothers to apply the same ingenuity and effort that produced all these past advances to adapt to whatever changes come along. But for those of us not capable of such mental gymnastics a more cheerful way to pass the time is to look at what has improved over time and simply be grateful for it. Including, for those of us who still enjoy reading books, the astonishing rise of literacy which is one of the things that gives us much cheer. Behold this week’s #cheerfulchart, showing literacy rates since 1475:

Prior to 1900 in many places around the world less than half the population could read and write. Now developed countries have achieved effectively 100% literacy and developing countries are catching up quickly.

P.S. As usual we thank OurWorldinData for putting these numbers together. Lately we’ve noticed the OWID crew giving the impression that they are trying to embrace climate doomsterism, likely in response to pressure from all the cool kids who are unhappy that their website provides so much evidence against the alarmists. But even if they start trying to spin things, all we ask is to keep letting us see the data, because it speaks for itself.