Factfulness

Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think

by Hans Rosling, Ola Rosling, Anna Rosling Rönnlund

Glad I’m done with this, don’t think my partner could’ve tolerated much more of my raving about Han Rosling’s stories or his exciting ways to see the world.

So, what’s so exciting?

Humans are making enormous progress against global poverty and diseases, we’re living longer, more children are going to school. You name the area of concern (except global warming) and we’re improving. That’s been the case since roughly the end of the Second World War. Perhaps it isn’t so evident in the ‘West.’ But most people don’t live in the ‘West’ anyway.

Rosling’s focusing on the majority of the world’s population is refreshing, humbling even. And it makes me reconsider my experiences in Mexico and Colombia in a new light. Just re-defining the levels of personal and societal wealth into four zones instead of the traditional two (rich and poor) allows me to understand the global trajectory much better.

Now I want to go back to Joseph Henrich’s book “The Weirdest People in the World” and reconsider his arguments about why the West has ‘recently’ been at the forefront of human development. Should we distrust books on their own as Rosling says we should distrust single numbers? Perhaps they only give real meaning, relative meaning, when compared against each other just as numbers and statistics do.

In short, I’m excited by Factfulness because it’s given me new eyes through which to see the world and the world is prettier than before.

Check out dollarstreet.org if you’ve got some time; even my partner thought that was fascinating.

Not sure I’ll be able to keep all the mental armor for staying factful present in my head but at least I know I can go back to the book if I need a refresher.

Thank you to Patrick Beja for recommending the book on the RDV Tech Podcast!

Did you read Factfulness? How did it make you feel? Please leave a comment below.