FACTFULNESS Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think

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 R?nnlund

Review by Andre Marafon

Adjust your lenses. The facts are overwhelming. The World is improving, greatly.

We can understand the World through many lenses. Most frequently, the way we understand the World brings stress. We see violence. War. Corruption. The rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. The world running out of its resources. Fortunately, according to Hans Rosling, it is an overdramatic misconception. It is misleading and untrue. Factfulness is the guide that the late Hans Rosling gave us from his deathbed to help us better understand the World through hard facts.

Hans Rosling was a World-renowned activist and doctor. He created an institute called Gapminder in Sweden and has presented his findings in several global forums, including the UN and Davos. He is a strong believer in both bad and better. He knows the world cannot be understood without numbers, and cannot be understood with numbers alone.

Let’s try two out of the ten questions Hasn Rosling has asked Nobel Laureates, World leaders, and ordinary folk around the World.

1.   In the last 20 years, the proportion of the world population living in extreme poverty has…

a.   Almost doubled

b.   Remained more or less the same

c.    Almost Halved

2.   How many of the world’s 1-year-old children today have been vaccinated against some disease?

a.   20%

b.   50%

c.    80%

One last chance to get one right.

1.   How many people in the world have some access to electricity?

a.   20%

b.   50%

c.    80%

I hope you didn’t bet against the World.

The book is a ten-chapter guide on the biases – or instincts as Hans calls it – that are preventing us from understating the World properly. These biases are no different from Robert Cialdini’s or Charlie Munger’s, but Hans’s conclusions are something quite special and intriguing.

I highly recommend the book for those who are searching for hard facts about Humanity and our current situation. It is a harsh reminder that when looking down, the view of the state of the World can get distorted. Factfulness will definitely help you put the World into perspective. If you ever find yourself feeling ungrateful, this will make you might think again. If you are grateful, you might understand what you can do to help others.

Even when discussing business strategy, this work can highlight important and often neglected trends. The unstoppable evolution of Africa and Asia is afoot. Due to several facts, they will be the largest – 80% in 2100 – and in aggregate richer markets of the World. You might want to focus your attention on companies that are tapping into these “almost” virgin markets. Another huge misconception I had was about the population. I kept thinking about how the number of old people would increase and increase. It appears I was partially right. I forgot to put into account that the number of adults would increase proportionally. Shocking, albeit a very real reminder those misconceptions can easily lead us to the wrong business decisions.  

As Hans puts it, the ultimate goal is to have the freedom to do what we want. Pure and simple. We are all seeking the same goal. In the past, it was not uncommon for a family to receive an income of less than US$2,00 per day – currently 1 billion people survive on this income. Somehow, someone from this family managed to break the tide and evolved to US$8,00 per day – currently 3 billion people struggle on this income. From there a new generation was able to study and now earn up to US$32,00 per day – currently 2 billion people. With more education, this family was able to reach the higher tiers and earn more than US$32,00 per day – currently 1 billion people. This is a significant improvement from the recent past, and although it is far from deal, it follows Hans’ view of the World, bad and better.

The book is also extremely current. Hans Rosling was responsible for taking action in the last Ebola crisis. He understood that the people trying to solve the problem shouldn’t be the people measuring the progress. During the Ebola crisis, when panic was stirring, he realized that actual cases were going down, and only suspected cases were going up. Does it sound familiar? He discusses the most prevalent worldview distorter, the urgency instinct. “When we are afraid and under time pressure and thinking of worst-case scenarios, we tend to make really stupid decisions. Our ability to think analytically can be overwhelmed by an urge to make quick decisions and take immediate action”.

I feel it is crucial to finish this review with the lesson that hit home. Teach our children humility and curiosity. “It is quite relaxing being humble, because it means you can stop feeling pressured to have a view about everything, and stop feeling you must be ready to defend your views all the time. (…) It means letting your mistakes trigger curiosity instead of embarrassment”.

More times than I can care to admit, I’ve been greatly misled. I’ve panicked. I’ve even frozen, when exposed to the media frenzy. It has always been a challenge to sieve through the racket and see the world for what it truly is. I now realize that instead of seeing the facts, all I had were the biases. The world is still the bad place we perceive it to be, but it is most definitely getting better. We must recognize this, in order to focus our energy and attention on seeking out the solutions. I was lucky to have been recommended this book by a dear friend, Daniel Wyatt. I now have a new guide to help me find the facts in order to better understand the World. In management, there is a saying that you can only manage what you can measure. I guess it is the same with World issues. What is measurable, is manageable.

Thank you, Hans. My lenses have been re-adjusted.