BOOK REVIEW: THE WORLD IS MUCH BETTER OFF
THAN YOU THINK
Book Review:
FACTFULNESS: Ten Reasons We’re
Wrong About the World—And Why Things are Better Than You Think (Hans Rosling
with Ola Rosling and Anna Rosling Rönnlund, Flatiron Books, 2018)
Review by Dr. Harold Goldmeier
One of my children is a graduate of
a prestigious university. He tells me he stopped reading newspapers, does not
faithfully read news reports online without checking them out further, watch
much TV news, and rarely listens to radio news broadcasts while driving. “My
head can’t handle all the facts and commentaries from pundits, and they don’t
seem to care when their facts are wrong. It’s all mind-numbing and paralytic.”
People use fake news, misstate
facts and misinterpret them to support their worldview. It is not a new
strategy. Spies sent into the Promised Land returned to Moses with fake news,
concocted facts and wild stories. Because of them, the Hebrews trekked the
desert another 40 years.
Hans Rosling had enough, so he asked
people in 30 countries, Do you think the
world is getting better, getting worse, or staying about the same? He collates the answers in a 330 pages new
book, Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the
World—And Why Things are Better Than You Think. Rosling built intelligence
architecture for testing worldviews against truthful facts.
Rosling is a deconstructionist. He
encourages everyone to question all traditional worldviews and assumptions by
researching and exposing facts. His work gives gravitas to the notion that ideology is an excuse for not thinking, or,
as Dorothy Kilgallen said, “A dogma is a man’s best friend.”
A large contributor to worldviews built on shifting sands stems from
“Our problem is that
we don’t know what we don’t know, and even our guesses are informed by
unconscious and predictable biases.” The book is filled with eye-opening facts,
it is extremely relatable, and engrossing peppered with real-life stories.
Hans Rosling led a storied life. He
writes in such a personal way it seems effortless. His extreme work ethic had him traveling the
world from his base in Sweden helping people. The stories he tells are
fascinating as is learning how the Doctor figured out the real facts in any
given situation, in order to apply successful solutions. The more people he encountered
the more I inquired, “The more ignorance I found, not only among my students
but everywhere…. People were so wrong about the world.” Ignorance of the facts is the “most concerning
problem of all.”
Dr. Rosling passed away before
finishing the book. He was blessed to have capable and like-minded children to
participate early in his mission and complete the book. It teaches a new way of
thinking and arriving at conclusions. It is the most fascinating “how to” on
the market. Rosling demonstrates how facts prove his worldview that things are
improving and there is hope for humanity.
For instance, most people he
surveyed hold a grim picture of the world. Rosling looks at the facts
concluding:
·
The vast majority of people
around the world live a middle-class life.
·
They are not impoverished
and suffering and their lives improve regularly.
·
Their girls go to school.
·
Their children get vaccinated.
·
They live in two-child
families, and
·
They want to go abroad on
holiday, not as refugees.
·
Step-by-step, year-by-year,
the world is improving.
There are huge challenges in the
world, but using his methodology one can change a prevalent overdramatic
worldview that is “stressful and misleading.”
Factfulness has eleven chapters
including, The Gap Instinct, Negativity, Fear, Size, Destiny, etc. Then each
chapter has subheadings that make the writing and ideas flow and connect. It concludes with Rules of Thumbs. The book
offers tests for readers to take about facts they “know,” and conclusions they
construct for themselves and their countries.
On a personal note, his point makes
me less stressed about conditions we’re told afflict the Jewish community. Many
Jews get their facts from social media and Jewish newspapers where gloom and
doom prevail. Here are facts for another worldview:
·
Rabbi Sholom Gold
points out there are more than 65 million refugees in 2018 and not one is Jewish.
It’s the first time in 2,000 years.
·
There are more young
men learning in one Jerusalem-based yeshiva (institutes for religious studies),
the Mir Yeshiva, than learned in all of Europe at any time before World War II.
·
More Jews make kosher
food choices than ever before with the industry topping $11B annually.
·
There are more
literate well-educated women graduates from Jewish schools than in the history
of the Jewish people.
·
The Jews are more
physically and economically well off than any time in history.
·
While there are
hundreds if not several thousands of anti-Israel activists on any individual
college campus, e.g., UC Berkeley, the fact is there are 42,000 students studying
at UIC-Berkeley who exhibit a demonstrable lack of concern or animosity for
Israel.
·
Polls show Israel has
the support of 74% of Americans, and most polled have a higher education.
·
Every democracy has
laws punishing anti-Semitism and protects their Jews.
Rosling claims the
Blame Instinct is to “exaggerate the importance of individuals or of particular
groups…. Following your blame instinct isn’t going to help.” At a time when EU
countries are blaming one another for the misery of refugees, Rosling offers a
particularly innovative solution based on facts he offers to the existential
threats refugees face fleeing on boats.
I believe Factfulness
offers a pathway to sensible thinking the world can especially use in the new
age of abusive political rhetoric. The examples and stories the Doctor includes
makes Factfulness a fun read, and the complementing plethora of graphs and
charts add an evocative welcome visual experience. Do not miss the outro from Dr.
Rosling’s daughters that offers a moving message about his impact on the
family.
Dr. Rosling was a man
who apparently loved practicing medicine, improving public health, but most of
all, and teaching. His TED talks have been viewed 35M times. I hope I got his
message right, but to make sure I am going read the book again and discuss it
with my students.
Buy Factfulness on Amazon.com
Harold Goldmeier is a writer and college teacher in Tel Aviv with a degree from
Harvard. He is an award-winning businessman and public speaker @
Harold.goldmeier@gmail.com
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