u/Sophia-Apollonius

I cam across a statement, that radio-carbon dating is set at 1950 CE, as the "present". Thinking about that, do data scientists, historical economists, and climate researchers treat 1950 as a hard baseline for "reliable" global datasets?

And what about the data that was collected prior to the 19th and 20th centuries? Large empires and nations had censuses, priests and scribes, and tracked taxes, population changes, wars, disease outbreaks etc. long before the 19th and 20th centuries.
At which point did we actually cross the threshold for a somewhat standardised, reliable data, with at least some semblance of standards and methods?

I came across a statement, that radio-carbon dating is set at 1950 CE, as the "present". Thinking about that, do data scientists, historical economists, and climate researchers treat 1950 as a hard baseline for "reliable" global datasets?

And what about the data that was collected prior to the 19th and 20th centuries? Large empires and nations had censuses, priests and scribes, and tracked taxes, population changes, wars, disease outbreaks etc. long before the 19th and 20th centuries.
At which point did we actually cross the threshold for a somewhat standardised, reliable data, with at least some semblance of standards and methods?

I cam across a statement, that radio-carbon dating is set at 1950 CE, as the "present". Thinking about that, do data scientists, historical economists, and climate researchers treat 1950 as a hard baseline for "reliable" global datasets?

And what about the data that was collected prior to the 19th and 20th centuries? Large empires and nations had censuses, priests and scribes, and tracked taxes, population changes, wars, disease outbreaks etc. long before the 19th and 20th centuries.
At which point did we actually cross the threshold for a somewhat standardised, reliable data, with at least some semblance of standards and methods?