Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World--and Why Things Are Better Than You Think

Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World--and Why Things Are Better Than You Think

<p>INSTANT <i>NEW YORK TIMES</i> BESTSELLER</p><p><b>“One of the most important books I’ve ever read—an indispensable guide to thinking clearly about the world.” – Bill Gates</b><br /><b></b><br /><b>“Hans Rosling tells the story of ‘the secret silent miracle of human progress’ as only he can. But <i>Factfulness</i> does much more than that. It also explains why progress is so often secret and silent and teaches readers how to see it clearly.” <i>—</i>Melinda Gates</b><br /><b></b><br /><b></b><b>"<i>Factfulness</i> by Hans Rosling, an outstanding international public health expert, is a hopeful book about the potential for human progress when we work off facts rather than our inherent biases." - Former U.S. President Barack Obama</b><b><i></i></b><br /><b><i></i></b><br /><b><i>Factfulnes</i>s: The stress-reducing habit of only carrying opinions for which you have strong supporting facts. </b></p><p>When asked simple questions about global trends—<i>what percentage of the world’s population live in poverty; why the world’s population is increasing; how many girls finish school</i>—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.</p><p>In <i>Factfulness</i>, Professor of International Health and global TED phenomenon Hans Rosling, together with his two long-time collaborators, Anna and Ola, offers <b>a radical new explanation of why this happens</b>. They reveal <b>the ten instincts that distort our perspective</b>—from our tendency to divide the world into two camps (usually some version of <i>us</i> and <i>them</i>) to the way we consume media (where fear rules) to how we perceive progress (believing that most things are getting worse). </p><p>Our problem is that we don’t know what we don’t know, and even our guesses are informed by unconscious and predictable biases.</p><p><b>It turns out that the world, for all its imperfections, is in a much better state than we might think.</b> 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. </p><p>Inspiring and revelatory, filled with lively anecdotes and moving stories, <b><i>Factfulness </i>is an urgent and essential book that will change the way you see the world and empower you to respond to the crises and opportunities of the future. </b></p><p>---</p><p>“This book is my last battle in my life-long mission to fight devastating ignorance…Previously I armed myself with huge data sets, eye-opening software, an energetic learning style and a Swedish bayonet for sword-swallowing. It wasn’t enough. But I hope this book will be.” Hans Rosling, February 2017.</p>