INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER“One of the most important books I’ve ever read—an indispensable guide to thinking clearly about the world.” – Bill Gates“Hans Rosling tells the story of ‘the secret silent miracle of human progress’ as only he can. But Factfulness does much more than that. It also explains why progress is so often secret and silent and teaches readers how to see it clearly.” —… and teaches readers how to see it clearly.” —Melinda Gates
”Factfulness by Hans Rosling, an outstanding international public health expert, is a hopeful book about the potential for human progress when we work off facts rather than our inherent biases.” – Former U.S. President Barack Obama
Factfulness: The stress-reducing habit of only carrying opinions for which you have strong supporting facts.
When asked simple questions about global trends—what percentage of the world’s population live in poverty; why the world’s population is increasing; how many girls finish school—we systematically get the answers wrong. So wrong that a chimpanzee choosing answers at random will consistently outguess teachers, journalists, Nobel laureates, and investment bankers.
In Factfulness, Professor of International Health and global TED phenomenon Hans Rosling, together with his two long-time collaborators, Anna and Ola, offers a radical new explanation of why this happens. They reveal the ten instincts that distort our perspective—from our tendency to divide the world into two camps (usually some version of us and them) to the way we consume media (where fear rules) to how we perceive progress (believing that most things are getting worse).
Our problem is that we don’t know what we don’t know, and even our guesses are informed by unconscious and predictable biases.
It turns out that the world, for all its imperfections, is in a much better state than we might think. That doesn’t mean there aren’t real concerns. But when we worry about everything all the time instead of embracing a worldview based on facts, we can lose our ability to focus on the things that threaten us most.
Inspiring and revelatory, filled with lively anecdotes and moving stories, Factfulness is an urgent and essential book that will change the way you see the world and empower you to respond to the crises and opportunities of the future.
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“This book is my last battle in my life-long mission to fight devastating ignorance…Previously I armed myself with huge data sets, eye-opening software, an energetic learning style and a Swedish bayonet for sword-swallowing. It wasn’t enough. But I hope this book will be.” Hans Rosling, February 2017.
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This is a must read, especially if you think we’re going to Hell in a hand basket.
It’s an eye-opening book. Since I’ve read this book, the way I look at the world completely changed. In my opinion, as Bill Gates said, everyone should read this book at least once. It would change the way our whole society looks at the problems we face now.
Excellent!
Optimistic and data-supported account of the amazing progress made by the human race on many fronts. Not that the world doesn’t face many very serious problems, but this provides some much-needed counterbalance to the shrieking media accounts of how the world is going to hell in a handbasket.
Opens your eyes to how the world really is not how ideologist pundits or media want you to believe. It’s all about the data, not opinions..
A tremendous read that’s unexpected in non-fiction. Hans and team collaborated to provide all of us with a data driven view of our global economy and bring clarity to trends which summarize what everyone should know about how our world works today, rather than 50 years ago. This is a book that gives palpable reasons to be hopeful for humanity- not just an escape from the news cycle!
Such an uplifting book, full of possibilities and reassurance. Made me feel so much better about humanity and the planet (especially after the distinct lack of face based leadership the world has experienced recently). It’ll make you grateful and had me in tears at the end. Five stars for sure!
One of the most readable books I’ve seen on how to understand the world around us. Realistic yet hopeful. Must reading for everyone who wants to understand why the world really is better than we think — even though we still have much work to do.
One of my favorite books. It provides extensive analysis of why and how humanity is progressing.
A must read for everyone living in this century
enlightening influence of math in the world
Who knew a book devoted to facts could be so inspirational and heartening? Hans Rosling was an amazing person and a big loss to the world, especially as we find ourselves in coronavirus panic. I wish he could give us his take on how best to deal with this epidemic and our fears of it.
I wish this book were required reading for humans! If you are worried about the world today please read this book! Hans Rosling seamlessly puts everything into perspective and brings true optimism back! We are hard wired to see the doom and gloom and he shows us how to circumvent this to see the true story and understand the numbers. This book is an easy read but so interesting! It really is stressful and heartbreaking to see gloom and doom at every turn but after reading this book I am truly more optimistic and less stressed! Yes, the world today is far from perfect but it is getting better. Just read this book!. . .
Important and uplifting – a must read for anyone who seeks to see the world clearly.
This book showed me how “facts” can be manipulated to mean many diverse things. It shows how to look at the origins of the numbers and interpret more accurately what they actually mean. In this age of “fake news”, it is helpful to know how to look at things to be able to have a more informed view of current events.
Hans Rosling’s last book. It is vintage Rosling, with a considerable portion of autobiography added. Worth reading, but other books may be better.
Everybody should read this book to gain a better understanding of the world and how we all can take part in creating a more hopeful future.
I learned so many surprising facts about the world.
This is a book that I think everyone should read. There is such a good perspective on world wide issues.
This is the type of book that only comes once in a while and will question all of your frames of reference. It is very easy to get lost in the depressing barrage of news pointing out to how we are killing the planet and life is getting worse by the second. While we can’t deny that there are many things that need to be improved, among which climate change hangs above us all, there are many things that are getting better.
This books aims to raise the level of the discussion from one based on emotions and perceptions to one based on facts. This not only will help us make better decisions for fixing the world’s many problems, but will also give us the optimism to do so out of a sense of possibility and accomplishment.
One of the masterpiece that the world of books has to offer.