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"Ten Reasons We're Wrong About The World—and Why Things Are Better Than You Think" |
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I read "Factfulness" with a book club this spring. Hans Rosling makes a
convincing case that most people have an unreasonably pessimistic view of the
world based on old beliefs that have never been examined or checked against current evidence.
For example, we hear a lot about global overpopulation. Here's a question from Rosling's factfulness quiz:
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
Fewer than 10% of Americans get this question right.1
For me, one of Rosling's most interesting points is that people tend to live in information bubbles and resist updating their worldviews thanks to various common cognitive biases. The risk here is that making decisions based on incorrect information leads to inefficient problem-solving at best, and can often make existing problems worse. He believes that recognizing the progress we've made on various issues will inspire people to work toward further progress. We can celebrate society's accomplishments without ignoring the work that still remains, and this is important so people don't get discouraged and tune out the issues entirely.
Another very interesting insight is that the poor country/rich country distinction has not really existed for decades. Across countries, people with similar income levels live surprisingly similar lifestyles. I recommend browsing the "Dollar Street" website here. I found its collection of photos quite eye-opening.
Verdict: "Factfulness" describes ten different cognitive biases and demonstrates how they can lead people astray when trying to solve problems, from global poverty to public safety to pandemic response (timely). It convincingly argues that the truth can be a powerful antidote to pessimism. Recommended.
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