Factfulness by Hans Rosling
Let’s start with a question -
‘There are 2 billion children in the world today, aged 0 to 15 years old. How many children will there be in the year 2100, according to the United Nations?’
- A: 4 billion
- B: 3 billion
- C: 2 billion
Don’t try to search for an answer on the internet, take your best guess.
The correct answer is C. Did that surprise you? You were probably thinking along the lines of 4 billion or more, given what we currently know about the population growth in the world today. Well, you are not alone. It turns out that some of the best minds in the Governments, media, public health also are in the same boat. We are no better than chimpanzees selecting the answers(it sounds harsh, but it’s a statistical fact).
The question posed above is just one of the many such questions that are answered in this amazing book - Factfulness. Now, it’s not a book on just some world facts presented as quiz preparatory material. The real intention of Hans Rosling is to change the perception of the world that we carry with us all the time using real statistics from trusted sourcs such as UNO, UNICEF, The World Bank, etc. But why does he care? Or rather, why should we care about these facts?
Because, without the factual data, we have a very distorted view of the world around us. We often think in terms of ‘developed’ and ‘developing’ nations, ‘rich’ and ‘poor’ and many such dichotomies. In reality, it’s a very different scenario out there. Why does this matter? It matters to the leaders of the world to make better decisions in terms of spending public money. It matters to the business heads to invest their resources in better markets - where they can impact peoples lives and make money. It matters to us, as the citizens of the world to understand our own world better. So, how does Hans do it?
At the beginnning of this book, Hans Rosling presents us with 13 such questions with answers. He then takes each one of these questions and provides the rationale behind why we end up choosing the wrong answer using 10 human insincts that we all have. Instincts such as ‘The Gap Instinct’, ‘The Negativity Instinct’, ‘The Fear Instinct’, ‘The Generalization Instinct’ and so on. I have never come across a more delightful amalgamation of psychology, economics, statistics and inferences so far. As you read through each chapter, you will be surprised to realize how deeply ingrained those insincts are in our minds that lead us to such wrong perceptions.
With deeply personal stories about public healthcare in the poorest of the nations of the world, Hans Rosling takes us through the lives of extremely under privileged and needy people that are heart touching and are bound to move us to the core. If you are reading this review, you are already in Level 4(read this book to understand the levels) and there are billions of people still on Levels 2 and 3. And it takes books like these to atleast change the way we think about our people, systems and ideologies. I’m sure after reading this book, your perception of the world will change forever.
Fun fact - you will find a lot of unfinished houses in the city of Tunisia and people still live in them. Can you guess why? The answer will baffle you! But wait, you will have to read this book to find out!