Home > Work > Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think
101 " When you hear about something terrible, calm yourself by asking, If there had been an equally large positive improvement, would I have heard about that? Even if there had been hundreds of larger improvements, would I have heard? Would I ever hear about children who don’t drown? "
― Hans Rosling , Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think
102 " When we hang on to a rose-tinted version of history we deprive ourselves and our children of the truth. "
103 " today, this instinct to see things as unchanging, this instinct not to update our knowledge, blinds us to the revolutionary transformations in societies happening all around us. "
104 " Many of us forget to behave properly with those who will control the future trade deals. "
105 " Paying too much attention to the individual visible victim rather than to the numbers can lead us to spend all our resources on a fraction of the problem, and therefore save many fewer lives. "
106 " Educating girls has proven to be one of the world’s best-ever ideas. When women are educated, all kinds of wonderful things happen in societies. The workforce becomes diversified and able to make better decisions and solve more problems. Educated mothers decide to have fewer children and more children survive. "
107 " Constantly test your favorite ideas for weaknesses. Be humble about the extent of your expertise. Be curious about new information that doesn’t fit, and information from other fields. And rather than talking only to people who agree with you, or collecting examples that fit your ideas, see people who contradict you, disagree with you, and put forward different ideas as a great resource for understanding the world. "
108 " US soil, 3,172 people died from terrorism over the last 20 years—an average of 159 a year. During those same years, alcohol contributed to the death of 1.4 million people in the United States—an average of 69,000 a year. "
109 " looking down from above distorts the view. "
110 " How many people in the West would guess that women in Iran today decide to have fewer babies than women in either the United States or Sweden? "
111 " For example, in the United States, the violent-crime rate has been on a downward trend since 1990. Just under 14.5 million crimes were reported in 1990. By 2016 that figure was well under 9.5 million. Each time something horrific or shocking happened, which was pretty much every year, a crisis was reported. The majority of people, the vast majority of the time, believe that violent crime is getting worse. No wonder we get an illusion of constant deterioration. "
112 " Free access to data doesn’t turn into knowledge without effort "
113 " Under the current US system, rich, insured patients visit doctors more than they need, running up costs, while poor patients cannot afford even simple, inexpensive treatments and die younger than they should. "
114 " Remember that no one tool is good for everything. If your favorite idea is a hammer, look for colleagues with screwdrivers, wrenches, and tape measures. Be open to ideas from other fields. "
115 " Every group of people I ask thinks the world is more frightening, more violent, and more hopeless "
116 " knowledge has no sell-by date: that once you have learned something, it stays fresh forever and you never have to learn it again. "
117 " When I see a lonely number in a news report, it always triggers an alarm: What should this lonely number be compared to? What was that number a year ago? Ten years ago? What is it in a comparable country or region? And what should it be divided by? What is the total of which this is a part? What would this be per person? I compare the rates, and only then do I decide whether it really is an important number. "
118 " I love critical thinking and I admire skepticism, but only within a framework that respects the evidence. "
119 " Data was absolutely key. And because it will be key in the future too, when there is another outbreak somewhere, it is crucial to protect its credibility and the credibility of those who produce it. Data must be used to tell the truth, not to call to action, no matter how noble the intentions. "
120 " Delaying the escape from extreme poverty just increases the population "