Factfulness by Hans Rosling, Ola Rosling, Anna Rosling Roennlund

Factfulness

by Hans Rosling, Ola Rosling, and Anna Rosling Roennlund

'A hopeful book about the potential for human progress when we work off facts rather than our inherent biases.' BARACK OBAMA

'One of the most important books I've ever read - an indispensable guide to thinking clearly about the world.' BILL GATES

*#1 Sunday Times bestseller * New York Times bestseller * Observer 'best brainy book of the decade' * Irish Times bestseller * Guardian bestseller * audiobook bestseller *

Factfulness: The stress-reducing habit of only carrying opinions for which you have strong supporting facts.

When asked simple questions about global trends - why the world's population is increasing; how many young women go to school; how many of us live in poverty - we systematically get the answers wrong. So wrong that a chimpanzee choosing answers at random will consistently outguess journalists, Nobel laureates and investment bankers.

In Factfulness, Professor of International Health and a man who can make data sing, Hans Rosling, together with his two long-time collaborators Anna and Ola, offers a radical new explanation of why this happens, and reveals the ten instincts that distort our perspective.

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.

Inspiring and revelatory, filled with lively anecdotes and moving stories, Factfulness is an urgent and essential book that will change the way you see the world.

Reviewed by mercurial on

5 of 5 stars

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This is a critically important book in a world where there is an overload of information and data. The book is not only extremely informative and well structured, the author's enthusiasm to educate and to share also shines through. It equips the readers with simple facts of the world, updating their world view and providing a foundation of critical thinking for their further research. It treats everyone in the world equally, talks openly about the author's own mistakes and shortcomings. It is easy to read and provides anecdotes and graphs and accessible data to all.

I would have urged everyone to immediately pick this up and read through it, but the book has taught me that urgency distorts intention and efficiency. So instead, I would only tell you that I intend to purchase a copy after reading this library book, and read a few pages every now and then to remind myself to always be objective, pragmatic, but optimistic in pursuing facts of the world.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 21 July, 2018: Finished reading
  • 21 July, 2018: Reviewed