Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World - and Why Things Are Better Than You Think
Hardcover, 352 pages
Published Jan. 25, 2018 by SCEPTRE.
It turns out that the world, for all its imperfections, is in a much better state than we might think. But when we worry about everything all the time instead of embracing a worldview based on facts, we can lose our ability to focus on the things that threaten us most.
Very interesting read. Turns out, many basic facts about the world I knew were outdated. The book is well-written and teaches a dozen of tricks on how to make better decisions. The book's website is nice too: www.gapminder.org
I'd probably recommend reading this book before reading Enlightenment Now. The facts about the world in it feel memorable and more relatable.
An important book in a world that is filled with "fake news" and conspiracy theories. Rosling starts by asking 13 questions about the current situation and how things developed in the last year. Most people get the answers wrong, usually only 2 of 13 answers are correct. So even chimpanzees that pick random answers would have a better result than the "informed" human.
Rosling states that there is no justification for separating the world in "us" and "them" or "west" and "rest". He describes why bad news usually get much more attention than good news. And he explains that how things develop and evolve are not usually straight lines, so it is not so easy so extrapolate the future.
He writes about our basic instincts and how they inhibit us from having an objective view to the world. But there is hope. Even slow change means change. And we learn …
An important book in a world that is filled with "fake news" and conspiracy theories. Rosling starts by asking 13 questions about the current situation and how things developed in the last year. Most people get the answers wrong, usually only 2 of 13 answers are correct. So even chimpanzees that pick random answers would have a better result than the "informed" human.
Rosling states that there is no justification for separating the world in "us" and "them" or "west" and "rest". He describes why bad news usually get much more attention than good news. And he explains that how things develop and evolve are not usually straight lines, so it is not so easy so extrapolate the future.
He writes about our basic instincts and how they inhibit us from having an objective view to the world. But there is hope. Even slow change means change. And we learn that it is not good to blame others.
The most interesting part of the book is his warning about climate crisis and a global pandemic. Rosling died in 2017 and now we face exactly what he was warning us about.
A clear "must read" for everyone that tries to understand the world.
Passionate book about getting your facts straight first, THEN forming an opinion. Includes lots of practical tips to help you see through misinformation and fearmongering. Rosling will surely be missed by many.
Why did I not read this book earlier? It is a great book if you read too much news :)
I have known some statistics about our world before (it is not so bad as you might think), but it was still very useful book. I think that the most useful thing for me was that I started looking at other countries differently. There is no such thing as "western", "developed", or "developing" countries. We humans love to split almost everything into two groups: bad and good, developed and developing, etc. But, this leads to unnecessary bias. It was a good instinct 5000 years ago, but not today.
Remember that in news you almost always will find extreme cases; it is not a majority. Remember to look at data, be aware of averages, do not extrapolate everything linearly, do not blame, just find root cause and expect bad news. It …
Why did I not read this book earlier? It is a great book if you read too much news :)
I have known some statistics about our world before (it is not so bad as you might think), but it was still very useful book. I think that the most useful thing for me was that I started looking at other countries differently. There is no such thing as "western", "developed", or "developing" countries. We humans love to split almost everything into two groups: bad and good, developed and developing, etc. But, this leads to unnecessary bias. It was a good instinct 5000 years ago, but not today.
Remember that in news you almost always will find extreme cases; it is not a majority. Remember to look at data, be aware of averages, do not extrapolate everything linearly, do not blame, just find root cause and expect bad news. It will come. Sooner or later.
There's a lot that could be said about the at times somewhat condescending tone, or the scientific accuracy of their quiz questions, but I think almost every reader of this very accessible book will come out of it with a better understanding of the world and what we can do —and have successfully been doing— to make it better. What more could you ask of it?
This book is a must read for everyone!
Two main takeaways from this book:
Developing/Developed world categorization is bullshit - instead divide the world into four levels of income.
Level 1 (poorest) - approx. 1 billion people
Level 2 (lower-to-middle income) - approx. 3 billion people
Level 3 (middle-to-upper income) - approx. 2 billion people
Level 4 (richest) - approx. 1 billion people
Dollar Street - an amazing idea of seeing people living the same kind of life across countries on the same income level. So keep in mind that affluent Africans are living as lavishly as affluent Americans and poorest Indians the same as poorest French, on an equal basis of income.
Despite some reservations, I would recommend this to my pessimist friends who think that the world is just doomed. It probably is - but it's also getting better.
A quick and interesting read about "yes, the world is bad, but it's actually getting better, not worse (and it probably got better since you last got information about it)". Very conversational but with a fair amount of verifiable facts, and some actionable points when it comes to paying attention to what happens around us and why it's worth it to take a step back and get more data before getting worked up about STUFF. Maybe sometimes a bit "TED"dy (a few sentences here and there that are clearly there to be catchy), but that's really the only thing I can nitpick about :)
I've recommended this to a number of people. Both a helpful primer on how to actually read statistics, and a wonderfully positive and uplifting book, this is a fitting and excellent thing to remember Hans Rosling by. If you deal with numbers in any way at work or when trying to learn about the world, it's worth a read.
Everybody should read this
