> We have made virtually no Progress over the vast majority of human history. Only recently (mostly since the European Enlightenment) has progress been discernible inside a human lifetime.

I find this kind of perspective scary to consider sometimes, especially when considering rather natural follow-ons along long timelines, things like mean-regressions.

> Both the Principle of Mediocrity (we are nothing special in this universe) and Spaceship Earth (Earth provides the ideal environment for us) are mistaken

It does seem a bit strange to call these "mistaken," since they are perspectives with accompanying leverage points. There are many ways in which perspectives like them have given us additional access to new progress in thinking, especially as compared to what we had before we had those perspectives.

I also gotta say I wish that the Hard to vary[1] page had as many examples as the Bad Explanations page. Seems like those are worth providing to people who are interested in universal impacts!

(Is it OK to ask for a Better Explanation of Hard to vary? :-))

Really interesting to read though, thanks for sharing it.

1. https://thebeginningofinfinity.xyz/Preface?stacked=Good+Expl...