Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About The World - And Why Things Are Better Than You Think

by Hans Rosling

Only actively wrong “knowledge” can make us score so badly.

I never trust data 100 percent, and you never should either.

A solution that works for me is to persuade myself to keep two thoughts in my head at the same time.

Something else that helps to control the negativity instinct is to constantly expect bad news.

When you hear about something terrible, calm yourself by asking, If there had been an equally large positive improvement, would I have heard about that? Even if there had been hundreds of larger improvements, would I have heard? Would I ever hear about children who don’t drown? Can I see a decrease in child drownings, or in deaths from tuberculosis, out my window, or on the news, or in a charity’s publicity material? Keep in mind that the positive changes may be more common, but they don’t find you. You need to find them. (And if you look in the statistics, they are everywhere.)

Parents in extreme poverty need many children for the reasons I set out earlier: for child labor but also to have extra children in case some children die.

everything you need to survive is lethal in high dosage.

The world is extremely unfair, but doubling one’s income, from any starting point, is always life-changing.

Factfulness is … recognizing the assumption that a line will just continue straight, and remembering that such lines are rare in reality.

I didn’t see what I wanted to see. I saw what I was afraid of seeing. Critical thinking is always difficult, but it’s almost impossible when we are scared.

If we are not extremely careful, we come to believe that the unusual is usual: that this is what the world looks like.

things can be bad, and getting better. Getting better, but still bad.

Factfulness is … recognizing when frightening things get our attention, and remembering that these are not necessarily the most risky.

Factfulness is … recognizing when a lonely number seems impressive (small or large),

Factfulness is … recognizing when a category is being used in an explanation, and remembering that categories can be misleading.

Cultures, nations, religions, and people are not rocks. They are in constant transformation.

To control the destiny instinct, don’t confuse slow change with no change.

As with milk or vegetables, you have to keep getting it fresh. Because everything changes.

Factfulness is … recognizing that many things (including people, countries, religions, and cultures) appear to be constant just because the change is happening slowly, and remembering that even small, slow changes gradually add up to big changes.

Be humble about the extent of your expertise. Be curious about new information that doesn’t fit, and information from other fields.

Factfulness is … recognizing that a single perspective can limit your imagination,

To control the single perspective instinct, get a toolbox, not a hammer.

If you really want to change the world you have to understand it. Following your blame instinct isn’t going to help.

Factfulness is … recognizing when a scapegoat is being used and remembering that blaming an individual often steals the focus from other possible explanations and blocks our ability to prevent similar problems in the future.

Factfulness is … recognizing when a decision feels urgent and remembering that it rarely is. To control the urgency instinct, take small steps.

we should be teaching our children humility and curiosity.

“Sorry, what we taught you is no longer true. Please return your brain for a free upgrade.”