I find myself still unable to answer the question, 'Are things around the world worse today than a generation ago?' There is a perception, which I largely share, that the world seems more chaotic, more warlike and significantly more doomed than at any time in the past. But this might not be true.

When Krakatoa exploded in 1883, the telegraph ensured news went around the world in a few hours. Of course, from there it might have taken another 24 hours to get into print, the principle source of information for most people. Today, it would be covered instantly and everywhere with a plethora of experts and pundits giving real-time commentary, for better or worse.

By contrast, news of Lincoln's assassination took two weeks to reach Europe by ship. This was only 20 years before Krakatoa. If we keep going further back, then news necessarily travelled over distances at the speed of a horse (prior to the invention of rail) or sailing ship or on foot. News from many places possibly never made it anywhere at all. Nor was it bound to be accurate or even true.

Jump forward to the present day. We can access real-time news at any time and anywhere. It is sent almost concurrently with the event itself, often as it is actually occurring. The smart phone is the telegraph, train, plane, ship, telephone and satellite all rolled into one. To have one in your hand is unprecedented in human history. Dozens of different news sources send instant updates, together with notifications, to hundreds of millions of people daily. Information is relentless and omnipresent.

So I am left with the opening question. Are things worse then ever or is our perception of them the issue.

What do you think?