Factfulness by Hans Rosling

 

In this book, Rosling who was a doctor and international health expert, gives the case that the world is much better off than many people think.  He also points out that most people think that things are much worse than is the fact in reality.  Some examples include: 80% of the world's population have some access to electricity, 80% of 1 year olds have been vaccinated, the majority of the world's population live in middle-income countries, life expectancy worldwide is age 70 up from age 30 several generations ago and the world population living in extreme poverty has decreased by more than half.  Yet when asked, most people give the wrong answers about these statistics and in fact, do worse than a random group of chimpanzees.  

Why do people think things are so much worse than they are?  Our attention tends to catch on negative news and most positive news never makes to our attention.  Journalists are expected to report interesting news and negative events such as riots and wars and natural disasters are more exciting than news that is positive.  Individuals are ignorant of the true facts and few are interested in researching various topics.  This leads to things like missing business opportunities and misappropriation of resources.  

Hans Rosling died shortly after this book was finished.  He worked with his son and daughter in law on this book and they continue his work.  It is an eye-opening story that more people should be aware of and I've ordered copies of this book to give others.  This book is recommended for nonfiction readers.