Leo T. reviewed Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World--and Why Things Are Better Than You Think on + 1775 more book reviews
I obtained this from LA County Library on the recommendation of Ms. McSherry, a PBS comrade, and am glad I did. They own 16 copies and 7 are checked out, which shows pretty good demand.
From the Introduction: "This is a book about the world and how it really is. It is also a book about you, and why you (and almost everyone I've ever met) do not see the world as it really is. It is about what you can do about it, and how this will make you feel more positive, less stressed, and more hopeful as you walk out of the circus ten and back to into the world." He shares a test with 13 questions of what should be common knowledge at the beginning of the book (I got nine right). He has found most people do not realize the progress we have been making with such things as basic education, electrification, etc. In this book he will take up several topics and share facts to demonstrate that 'things are better than you think.'
The author is a successful speaker and his career gave him a good many appropriate anecdotes he shares with us. A great deal of effort went into organizing his argument.
A chapter I especially liked is 9: The Blame Instinct. That is, "the instinct to find a clear, simple reason why something bad has happened." As is his custom, Mr. Rosling offers an example where he himself fell short. If things don't go your way, look for a reason why it played out thus, not for someone or something to blame. Finding the cause will bypass mistakenly bringing one's prejudices to the fore. Going further, when things are going well it is worthwhile to consider why that is so and it is often because of the 'system' not awarding credit to someone for an extraordinary action.
He considers immigrants coming to the European Union in boats, concluding "We have an instinct to find someone to blame, but we rarely look in the mirror. I think smart and kind people often fail to reach the terrible, guilt-inducing conclusion that our own immigration policies are responsible for the drownings of refugees." A major theme is to look on the bright side, but my own experience on the Coast of living the fifty-five years since the passage of the Immigration Act of 1965 has made me believe that the European Union has been very generous given that the Muslims were at the gates of Vienna in 1689, they intend to take others jobs and apartments, and they have had little kids despite intending an arduous journey.
On the other hand, I myself found Rosling sharing that it is logical for the population of the world living with no electricity or sketchy service to want more, despite the problem of global warming. He starts with a bar chart of CO2 Emissions by Income that cannot be ignored. Again, overall things are improving; we need to note the progress made even in poorly governed places. This is within his lifetime, as he demonstrates by telling about the first washing machine that his family bought. His mom started the machine and then took him to the library while the work was being done. "In went the laundry, and out came books. Thank you industrialization, thank you steel mill, thank you power station, thank you chemical-processing industry, for giving us the time to read books. Two billion people today have enough money to use a washing machine and enough time for mothers to read books--because it is almost always mothers who do the laundry."
Explanatory endnotes, bibliography, and index.
From the Introduction: "This is a book about the world and how it really is. It is also a book about you, and why you (and almost everyone I've ever met) do not see the world as it really is. It is about what you can do about it, and how this will make you feel more positive, less stressed, and more hopeful as you walk out of the circus ten and back to into the world." He shares a test with 13 questions of what should be common knowledge at the beginning of the book (I got nine right). He has found most people do not realize the progress we have been making with such things as basic education, electrification, etc. In this book he will take up several topics and share facts to demonstrate that 'things are better than you think.'
The author is a successful speaker and his career gave him a good many appropriate anecdotes he shares with us. A great deal of effort went into organizing his argument.
A chapter I especially liked is 9: The Blame Instinct. That is, "the instinct to find a clear, simple reason why something bad has happened." As is his custom, Mr. Rosling offers an example where he himself fell short. If things don't go your way, look for a reason why it played out thus, not for someone or something to blame. Finding the cause will bypass mistakenly bringing one's prejudices to the fore. Going further, when things are going well it is worthwhile to consider why that is so and it is often because of the 'system' not awarding credit to someone for an extraordinary action.
He considers immigrants coming to the European Union in boats, concluding "We have an instinct to find someone to blame, but we rarely look in the mirror. I think smart and kind people often fail to reach the terrible, guilt-inducing conclusion that our own immigration policies are responsible for the drownings of refugees." A major theme is to look on the bright side, but my own experience on the Coast of living the fifty-five years since the passage of the Immigration Act of 1965 has made me believe that the European Union has been very generous given that the Muslims were at the gates of Vienna in 1689, they intend to take others jobs and apartments, and they have had little kids despite intending an arduous journey.
On the other hand, I myself found Rosling sharing that it is logical for the population of the world living with no electricity or sketchy service to want more, despite the problem of global warming. He starts with a bar chart of CO2 Emissions by Income that cannot be ignored. Again, overall things are improving; we need to note the progress made even in poorly governed places. This is within his lifetime, as he demonstrates by telling about the first washing machine that his family bought. His mom started the machine and then took him to the library while the work was being done. "In went the laundry, and out came books. Thank you industrialization, thank you steel mill, thank you power station, thank you chemical-processing industry, for giving us the time to read books. Two billion people today have enough money to use a washing machine and enough time for mothers to read books--because it is almost always mothers who do the laundry."
Explanatory endnotes, bibliography, and index.
