Factfulness by Hans Rosling

I like to be aware. I want to know what’s going on, why, and what will change in the future. More than anything though, I love data and I love data that backs up data that shows the true picture. Especially living in the United States, it is way too easy to feel as if everywhere else in the world is far far away, which simply is not true. We can have an impact on anywhere in the world if we want to.

I think that this is extremely valuable for people to remember. Opinions are just that — opinions. Facts matter though, you cannot argue the facts, you can argue the source of the facts but if your sources are reputable, that should be enough to show someone they are suffering from a misconception, as long as you phrase it well.

If you want to convince someone they are suffering from a misconception, it is very useful to test their opinions against the data.

This is a misconception that many have. The gap has closed, and now, the author explained that the world should no longer be viewed in terms of developing and developed countries. Bill Gates wrote about this book in April of 2018 also (linked here). Instead, the authors explained that countries should be viewed in 1 of 4 levels, with most countries at level 2 at the time of publishing.

There is no gap between low and high-income countries.