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A review by theravenkingx
Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling
5.0
This book can be treated as a companion book to Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari. If Sapiens has failed to convince you that living conditions all over the world are improving than you should really pick this book up. Hans Rosling takes the same idea propounded by Mr. Harari in his book and present it in a more digestable format and writing. Rosling is a professor and his writing really shows that aspect of him. He knows how to deal with different opnions and how to transform those opinions without coming across as smug and arrogant.
After reading Sapiens and Homo Deus, I have realized one thing about Yuval that he writes very blunty. His efforts in connecting with the readers are very minimal. He is only interested in stating the facts. Rosling, however, is more empathic towards his readers and to their preconceived notions. He attempts at transforming those beliefs and opnions without disrespecting or dismissing them. He acts like a friend who wants to hold your hand and take you on a journey of self-transformation. His writing reflects the humbleness of his personality.
We humans collectively share a very negative view of the world that Mr. Rosling attributes that to 10 basic human instincts inherited from our ancestors--mainly hunter gatherers--that keep us from seeing the world factfuly. He describe how these instincts can put a veil on our eyes and what we can do to see through the fabric of our blindfolds.
The first and the profound thing is the framework that Mr. Rosling has enunciated in this book for how to see the world. He has divided the world into four different income groups (with the majority of people living in level 2 and 3). This is important because we are programmed to divide the world dichotomously--rich & poor, develop & developing, us and them--completely ignoring the categories that lies in between.
When we divide the world into rich and poor, it becomes almost impossible to pick up on the progress we have made and we start seeing everyone who doesn't have a certain lifestyle as poor. Rosling describe this phenomenon as looking down at a city from the tallest building. When we are at the top our perspective becomes a little hazy and we begin seeing all other buildings as short irrespective of the fact that some building are taller than the others.
Rosling's framework helps us see the progress humanity has made over the years more clearly. For example: contrary to popular belief, today only 1 billion people live under extreme poverty while majority of people lies somewhere in the middle and are slowly moving towards level 4 i.e. high income group.
This book contains a stupendous amount of charts, tables, graphs and other statistical data that gives a better picture of today's world.
The most fascinating topic that Rosling discussed was about the world population. The world population will reach 11 billion by 2100, but It won't be because of new borns. The people currently breathing will increase the population of adults in the coming years. The children population will remain the same (2 billion.) This hard to grasp concept is explained beautifully with the help of a chart.
There are other great lessons like how certain numbers can send us in panic mode, and how comparisons of these very same numbers can paint a hopeful picture. For example: when we hear that 10% of Brazil's population holds 41% of the total income, we immediately start imagining rich people stealing resources from all the rest. This number is definitely alarming, but when we compare this 41% of today with 51% of 1989, we see how much progress Brazil has made and how the gap is slowly shrinking.
By this we can rightly assume, the world can be both bad and better. This is the main theme of this book and the one that is missing from yuval's books. I always say that progress is a double edged sword and we are just displacing our problems. Insufficient is being replaced by excess. Technological advancement, efficient production is giving rise to global warming. Antibiotics are creating new health problems and so on.
Rosling professes that the world has become both better and bad. He doesn't force us to see the world as perfect, he just highlights our tendency to exaggerate the bad and completely ignore the good.
There is always a gap between our real experiences and data. Therefore, we cannot completely rely on data. We must use both our experiences and data to understand the world better.
In the last chapter he mentions 6 problem that need our immediate attention but not our urgent action.
1. Extreme Poverty
2. Climate change
3. Global pandemic
4. World war
5. Financial collapse
6. Unknown Risks
We are far from achieving utopia but the WORLD isn't as bad as it seem. It's an interesting read. Highly recommended.
Rest In peace Mr. Rosling and thanks for leaving this gem for us.
After reading Sapiens and Homo Deus, I have realized one thing about Yuval that he writes very blunty. His efforts in connecting with the readers are very minimal. He is only interested in stating the facts. Rosling, however, is more empathic towards his readers and to their preconceived notions. He attempts at transforming those beliefs and opnions without disrespecting or dismissing them. He acts like a friend who wants to hold your hand and take you on a journey of self-transformation. His writing reflects the humbleness of his personality.
We humans collectively share a very negative view of the world that Mr. Rosling attributes that to 10 basic human instincts inherited from our ancestors--mainly hunter gatherers--that keep us from seeing the world factfuly. He describe how these instincts can put a veil on our eyes and what we can do to see through the fabric of our blindfolds.
The first and the profound thing is the framework that Mr. Rosling has enunciated in this book for how to see the world. He has divided the world into four different income groups (with the majority of people living in level 2 and 3). This is important because we are programmed to divide the world dichotomously--rich & poor, develop & developing, us and them--completely ignoring the categories that lies in between.
When we divide the world into rich and poor, it becomes almost impossible to pick up on the progress we have made and we start seeing everyone who doesn't have a certain lifestyle as poor. Rosling describe this phenomenon as looking down at a city from the tallest building. When we are at the top our perspective becomes a little hazy and we begin seeing all other buildings as short irrespective of the fact that some building are taller than the others.
Rosling's framework helps us see the progress humanity has made over the years more clearly. For example: contrary to popular belief, today only 1 billion people live under extreme poverty while majority of people lies somewhere in the middle and are slowly moving towards level 4 i.e. high income group.
This book contains a stupendous amount of charts, tables, graphs and other statistical data that gives a better picture of today's world.
The most fascinating topic that Rosling discussed was about the world population. The world population will reach 11 billion by 2100, but It won't be because of new borns. The people currently breathing will increase the population of adults in the coming years. The children population will remain the same (2 billion.) This hard to grasp concept is explained beautifully with the help of a chart.
There are other great lessons like how certain numbers can send us in panic mode, and how comparisons of these very same numbers can paint a hopeful picture. For example: when we hear that 10% of Brazil's population holds 41% of the total income, we immediately start imagining rich people stealing resources from all the rest. This number is definitely alarming, but when we compare this 41% of today with 51% of 1989, we see how much progress Brazil has made and how the gap is slowly shrinking.
By this we can rightly assume, the world can be both bad and better. This is the main theme of this book and the one that is missing from yuval's books. I always say that progress is a double edged sword and we are just displacing our problems. Insufficient is being replaced by excess. Technological advancement, efficient production is giving rise to global warming. Antibiotics are creating new health problems and so on.
Rosling professes that the world has become both better and bad. He doesn't force us to see the world as perfect, he just highlights our tendency to exaggerate the bad and completely ignore the good.
There is always a gap between our real experiences and data. Therefore, we cannot completely rely on data. We must use both our experiences and data to understand the world better.
In the last chapter he mentions 6 problem that need our immediate attention but not our urgent action.
1. Extreme Poverty
2. Climate change
3. Global pandemic
4. World war
5. Financial collapse
6. Unknown Risks
We are far from achieving utopia but the WORLD isn't as bad as it seem. It's an interesting read. Highly recommended.
Rest In peace Mr. Rosling and thanks for leaving this gem for us.