That is, the human brain is hardwired with instincts which have a penchant for overdramatizing events, leading to misconceptions and a skewed worldview. Overall, the author attributes our global ignorance to evolution. As the results will have it, the majority of them have a disfigured view of the world and tend to understate the progress achieved, faring no better than chimps. He posed a questionnaire about the state of the world to people from different shades of life-world leaders, scientists, journalists, bankers and even Nobel laureates. Mind you, Hans in no way attempts to trivialize the misfortunes and pain disasters-say, a volcanic eruption-inflict on humans. Hardly do they ever present narratives of progress achieved-say, halving of extreme global poverty in the last 20 years and attaining the current global life expectancy of 70 years-because, partly, good news don't sell. The author partly blames media for disproportionate coverage and sensational journalism by devoting way too much of time and energy on the negative side of the story-stories of deaths due to earthquakes, a headline of a tragic plane crash, a terrorist attack and so forth. In other words, the book stresses on setting the record straight about the unprecedented progress achieved by humanity over the years and urges the reader to cast aside the ghost from the past and update one's understanding of the current state of the world by using data as a tool. The work is essentially an attempt by the author to present a fact-based, cool-headed world-view against the outdated and distorted perceptions and mindsets people carry regarding too many issues of global concern, including income inequality, global poverty and life expectancy. A policy based on the simplistic worldview presented in Factfulness could have serious consequences.įactfulness is a book by Hans Rosling, a Swedish physician and statistician, which was published posthumously.

' (2) However, Factfulness actually employs a biased selection of variables, avoids analysis of negative trends, and does not discuss any of the serious challenges related to continual population growth. …Like his famous presentations, it throws down a gauntlet to doom-and-gloomers in global health by challenging preconceptions and misconceptions. An article in the science journal Nature praised the book in glowing terms: ' This magnificent book ends with a plea for a factual world view.

In the United States, Bill Gates recently announced that he will hand out the book to all graduating university students, and 32 more translations are in the pipeline. His posthumous gospel, Factfulness (1), which contains a collection of illustrative statistics and imaginative insights, has reached a global audience. Charisma and positive messages about world development made Hans Rosling (1948– 2017), a former professor of international health at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, an international star.

Hans rosling book