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

141 " The Foreign Disease The body’s largest organ is the skin. Before modern medicine, one of the worst imaginable skin diseases was syphilis, which would start as itchy boils and then eat its way into the bones until it exposed the skeleton. The microbe that caused this disgusting sight and unbearable pain had different names in different places. In Russia it was called the Polish disease. In Poland it was the German disease; in Germany, the French disease; and in France, the Italian disease. The Italians blamed back, calling it the French disease. The instinct to find a scapegoat is so core to human nature that it’s hard to imagine the Swedish people calling the open sores the Swedish disease, or the Russians calling it the Russian disease. That’s not how people work. "

― Hans Rosling , Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think

143 " Being always in favor of or always against any particular idea makes you blind to information that doesn’t fit your perspective. This is usually a bad approach if you like to understand reality. "

― Hans Rosling , Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think

145 " 80/20. Have you been given a long list? Look for the few largest items and deal with those first. They are quite likely more important than all the others put together. •   Divide. Amounts and rates can tell very different stories. Rates are more meaningful, especially when comparing between different-sized groups. "

― Hans Rosling , Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think

147 " I am saying that things can be both bad and better. Think of the world as a premature baby in an incubator. The baby’s health status is extremely bad and her breathing, heart rate, and other important signs are tracked constantly so that changes for better or worse can quickly be seen. After a week, she is getting a lot better. On all the main measures, she is improving, but she still has to stay in the incubator because her health is still critical. Does it make sense to say that the infant’s situation is improving? Yes. Absolutely. Does it make sense to say it is bad? Yes, absolutely. Does saying “things are improving” imply that everything is fine, and we should all relax and not worry? No, not at all. Is it helpful to have to choose between bad and improving? Definitely not. It’s both. It’s both bad and better. Better, and "

― Hans Rosling , Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think

149 " The Swedish author and journalist Lasse Berg wrote an excellent report from rural India in the 1970s. When he returned 25 years later, he could see clearly how living conditions had improved. Pictures from his visit in the 1970s showed earthen floors, clay walls, half-naked children, and the eyes of villagers with low self-esteem and little knowledge of the outside world. They were a stark contrast to the concrete houses of the late 1990s, where well-dressed children played and self-confident and curious villagers watched TV. When Lasse showed the villagers the 1970s pictures they couldn’t believe the photos were taken in their neighborhood. “No,” they said. “This can’t be here. You must be mistaken. We have never been that poor.” Like most people, they were living in the moment, busy with new problems, like the children watching immoral soap operas or not having enough money to buy a motorbike. "

― Hans Rosling , Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think

151 " In 2016 a total of 40 million commercial passenger flights landed safely at their destinations. Only ten ended in fatal accidents. Of course, those were the ones the journalists wrote about: 0.000025 percent of the total. Safe flights are not newsworthy "

― Hans Rosling , Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think

153 " Then it was time for dessert: another plate, full of big, white larvas from the palm nut tree. And I do mean big—each one was longer and thicker than my thumb, and had been lightly fried in its own fat. But I wondered, had they been too lightly fried? Because they seemed to be moving. The villagers were proud to offer us such a delicious treat.
Remember, I am a sword swallower. I should be able to push anything down my throat. And I am not usually a fussy eater: I had even once eaten porridge made from mosquitos. But no. This, I couldn’t do. The heads of the larvas looked like little brown nuts and their thick bodies like transparent wrinkled marshmallows, through which I could see their intestines. The villagers gestured that I should bite them in two and suck out the insides. If I tried I would puke the rat back up. I did not want to offend.
Suddenly, an idea. I smiled softly and said regretfully, “You know what, I am sorry, but I can’t eat larvas.”
Thorkild turned to me, surprised. He already had a couple of larvas hanging out of the corners of his mouth. He really loved those larvas. He had previously worked as a missionary in Congo, where they had been the highlight of every week for one whole year.
“You see, we don’t eat larvas,” I said, trying to look convincing. The villagers looked at Thorkild.
“But he eats them?” they asked. Thorkild stared at me.
“Ah,” I said. “You see, he comes from a different tribe. I come from Sweden, he comes from Denmark. In Denmark, they love eating larvas. But in Sweden it’s against our culture.” The village teacher went and got out the world map and I pointed out the water separating our two countries. “On this side of the water they eat larvas,” I said, “and on this side we don’t.” It’s actually one of the most blatant lies I have ever told, but it worked. The villagers were happy to share my dessert between them. Everyone, everywhere knows that people from different tribes have different customs. "

― Hans Rosling , Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think

155 " What the photos make clear is that the main factor that affects how people live is not their religion, their culture, or the country they live in, but their income. "

― Hans Rosling , Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think

157 " almost all the increased child survival is achieved through preventive measures outside hospitals by local nurses, midwives, and well-educated parents. Especially mothers: the data shows that half the increase in child survival in the world happens because the mothers can read and write. More children now survive because they don’t get ill in the first place. "

― Hans Rosling , Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think

159 " Another student asked, 'If you could choose one piece of equipment that could make your work easier, what would that be?'
'I really want a flashlight,' she answered. 'When I walk to a village in the dark, even when the moon is shining, it is so difficult to see the snakes. "

― Hans Rosling , Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think