Factfulness : ten reasons we're wrong about the world - and why things are better than you think

Rosling, Hans (author.). Rosling, Ola, 1975- (author.). Rönnlund, Anna Rosling, 1975- (author.).

Summary:

"When asked simple questions about global trends--what percentage of the world's population live in poverty; why the world's population is increasing; how many girls finish school -- we systematically get the answers wrong. So wrong that a chimpanzee choosing answers at random will consistently outguess teachers, journalists, Nobel laureates, and investment bankers. Professor and TED presenter Hans Rosling, together with his two long-time collaborators, Anna and Ola, offers a radical explanation of why this happens. They reveal the ten instincts that distort our perspective, from our tendency to divide the world into two camps (usually some version of us and them) to the way we consume media (where fear rules) to how we perceive progress (believing that most things are getting worse). Our problem is that we don't know what we don't know, and even our guesses are informed by unconscious and predictable biases. It turns out that the world, for all its imperfections, is in a much better state than we might think. That doesn't mean there aren't real concerns. 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."-- Provided by publisher.

Record details

ISBN: 9781250107817
ISBN: 1250107814
ISBN: 9781250123817
ISBN: 125012381X
Physical Description: x, 342 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm
Edition: First edition.
Publisher: New York : Flatiron Books, 2018.

Content descriptions

General Note:	Illustrations on lining papers.
Bibliography, etc. Note:	Includes bibliographical references (pages 299-325) and index.
Formatted Contents Note:	The gap instinct -- The negativity instinct -- The straight line instinct -- The fear instinct -- The size instinct -- The generalization instinct -- The destiny instinct -- The single perspective instinct -- The blame instinct -- The urgency instinct -- Factfulness in practice -- Factfulness rules of thumb -- Appendix. How did your country do?