The World’s Getting Better All the Time January 3, 2018January 3, 2018 Click here for the good news: 2017 was a year of medical and technological breakthroughs — as 2018 and each year thereafter will surely be, too. Enjoy the list. It was also a relatively good year not to get killed — humanity is getting better at minimizing the death toll from natural disasters. But if you really want to put it all in perspective, Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harari is the book for you. Subtitled: “A Brief History of Tomorrow.” First there was nothing. Thirteen or fourteen billion years. Then, about a second ago: Homo Erectus. Now Homo Sapiens. Next: Homo Deus.* *Unless thoughtless, unstable leaders render the planet uninhabitable. Then we’re back to nothing for a few billion years.