Factfulness - Hans Rosling | Book Review
Updated: Nov 27, 2022
Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think is a 2018 book by Swedish statistician Hans Rosling with his son Ola Rosling and daughter-in-law Anna Rosling Rönnlund.
The book presents interesting data on various topics in a synthetic and highly visual way, the actions that we have to take to try to combat the ignorance in which the majority of the population is immersed when drawing conclusions about the development of humanity, that is, stop believing that the world and everything that happens in this is getting worse every day.
The only problem I see for the author is that, although he updates the global statistical data, he does not compare them with quality of life indices of the 21st century. That is, 50 years ago, it was normal and acceptable that a middle-class person did not have Internet or transportation, did not have a cell phone, had to agree to receive water or electricity service for a few hours a day, even not having these services, because indeed at that time there was not yet enough technology or the advances required to carry out such projects. Today the situation is different. Thanks to advances in science, technology, and health. As the years go by and with scientific progress in health, technology, education, or employment increases, the development of populations must also go hand in hand with them.
Regarding the concept of segmentation of the world population into four social groups depending on their economic income and how these evolve over time, I think they had to inquire into the parameters to establish the values of these incomes. It is not the same for a family to earn $4 a day today as it would have earned it 50 years ago. Factors such as inflation, the exchange rates of each country, or the purchasing power for X amount of dollars influence these analyzes too much. The author never says whether or not he takes them into account, so it seems necessary that the author make these clarifications.
I would say that this is one of the best books I have read. I am grateful to have done it in these days of bitterness over the pandemic (something the author himself says was one of his great fears, including that it could be a disease similar to the flu due to its degree of contagion and perhaps more deadly).
The central question of the book is: you can “think two things at the same time.” One is that many things are wrong and that must be worked on; the other is that we are much better than before, and I think this is the most important thing. It is worth working on what we consider essential because we can change the world for the better as we have already done. The ozone layer is an excellent example in this context. Though not mentioned in the book, it is a piece of news that many read in half. They only paid attention to it when they said that the weakening of this layer could be the end of humanity, but they did not read the good news that it is already getting more robust, thanks to the measures we have been taking.
The book goes in this sense trying to understand why we tend to see only the most negative, dismissing the positive. Rosling speaks of “instincts” that confuse or blind us in some cases. This is where some more in-depth analysis or criteria may be lacking and needs to be supplemented by other books such as “Think Fast, Think Slow” by Kahneman, others on cognitive biases, and much on behavioral economics.
The truth is that this book is welcomed during these times, in the midst of so much bad news, brings a little air and hope... the author who says that the efforts are worth it.
Factfulness changed my vision of the world that I had, teaching me that, although many bad things have not been wholly eradicated, over the years, they are reduced, which translates to a better quality of life for people.
The Facts
1. 80% of girls complete primary education in low-income countries.
2. The majority of the world’s population lives in middle-income countries.
3. The percentage of people living in extreme poverty has halved in the last 20 years.
4. The life expectancy of a person is 70 years.
5. There will be 3 billion children in 2100 (just a billion more than now).
6. In 2100, the world population will increase by another 4 billion people because there will be more adults between 15-74 years.
7. The percentage of deaths caused by natural disasters has decreased by less than half in the last 100 years.
8. The world population is divided: one billion in America, one billion in Europe, one billion in Africa, and 4 billion in Australia and Asia.
9. 80% of children have been vaccinated against some disease.
10. Worldwide, an average of 30-year-old women have gone through 9 years of education (one year less than men of the same age).
11. Tigers, giant pandas, and black rhinos are no longer endangered.
12. 80% of the world’s population has access to electricity.
13. The global temperature will increase in the next 100 years.
Concluding thoughts
This is an excellent book that highlights through data the need to update the knowledge acquired in recent years in schools, in books, in the media, and in life itself. Always governed by drama and lack of curiosity.
Beyond how interesting the analysis it makes of the figures, the book makes us think about the way we tend to form judgments and opinions on specific issues, without an objective evidence base and without seeking to understand the situations from the data. I believe that anyone who knows how to read and has a critical attitude should read this book, especially early, to develop an open and innovative mindset. #HansRosling #factfulness