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Let my dataset change your mindset 毛泽东让中国健康了
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Let my dataset change your mindset
When I talk to my students about global issues, and I listen to them in the coffee break, they always talk about "we" and "them." And when they come back into the lecture room I ask them, "What do you mean with "we" and "them"? "Oh, it's very easy. It's the western world and it's the developing world," they say. "We learned it in college."And what is the definition then? "The definition? Everyone knows," they say.
But then you know, I press them like this. So one girl said, very cleverly, "It's very easy. Western world is a long life in a small family. Developing world is a short life in a large family." And I like that definition, because it enabled me to transfer their mindset into the dataset. And here you have the dataset. So, you can see that what we have on this axis here is size of family. One, two, three, four, fivechildren per woman on this axis. And here, length of life, life expectancy, 30, 40, 50. Exactly what the students said was their concept about the world.
And really this is about the bedroom. Whether the man and woman decide to have small family, and take care of their kids, and how long they will live. It's about the bathroom and the kitchen. If you have soap, water and food, you know, you can live long. And the students were right. It wasn't that the world consisted -- the world consisted here, of one set of countries over here, which had large families and short life. Developing world. And we had one set of countries up there which was the western world.They had small families and long life.
And you are going to see here the amazing thing that has happened in the world during my lifetime. Then the developing countries applied soap and water, vaccination.And all the developing world started to apply family planning. And partly to USA who help to provide technical advice and investment. And you see all the world moves over to a two child family, and a life with 60 to 70 years.
But some countries remain back in this area here. And you can see we still have Afghanistan down here. We have Liberia. We have Congo. So we have countries living there.So the problem I had is that the worldview that my students had corresponds to reality in the world the year their teachers were born. (Laughter) (Applause)
And we, in fact, when we have played this over the world. I was at the Global Health Conference here in Washington last week, and I could see the wrong concept even active people in United States had, that they didn't realize the improvement of Mexico there, and China, in relation to United States. Look here when I move them forward. Here we go. They catch up. There's Mexico. It's on par with United States in these two social dimensions. There was less than five percent of the specialists in Global Health that was aware of this. This great nation, Mexico, has the problem that arms are coming from North, across the borders, so they had to stop that, because they have this strange relationship to the United States, you know.
But if I would change this axis here, I would instead put income per person. Income per person. I can put that here.And we will then see a completely different picture. By the way, I'm teaching you how to use our website, Gapminder World, while I'm correcting this, because this is a free utility on the net. And when I now finally got it right, I can go back 200 years in history. And I can find United States up there. And I can let the other countries be shown. And now I have income per person on this axis. And United States only had some, one, two thousand dollars at that time. And the life expectancy was 35 to 40 years, on par with Afghanistan today.
And what has happened in the world, I will show now. This is instead of studying history for one year at university. You can watch me for one minute now and you'll see the whole thing. (Laughter) You can see how the brown bubbles, which is west Europe, and the yellow one, which is the United States, they get richer and richer and also start to get healthier and healthier. And this is now 100 years ago,where the rest of the world remains behind. Here we come. And that was the influenza. That's why we are so scared about flu, isn't it? It's still remembered. The fall of life expectancy. And then we come up. Not untilindependence started.
Look here You have China over there, you have India over there, and this is what has happened. Did you note there, that we have Mexico up there? Mexico is not at all on par with the United States, but they are quite close. And especially, it's interesting to see China and the United States during 200 years, because I have my oldest son now working for Google, after Google acquired this software. Because in fact, this is child labor. My son and his wife sat in a closet for many years and developed this.And my youngest son, who studied Chinese in Beijing. So they come in with the two perspectives I have, you know?And my son, youngest son who studied in Beijing, in China, he got a long-term perspective. Whereas when my oldest son, who works for Google, he should develop by quarter, or by half-year. Or Google is quite generous, so he can have one or two years to go.
But in China they look generation after generation because they remember the very embarrassing period, for 100 years, when they went backwards. And then they would remember the first part of last century, which was really bad, and we could go by this so-called Great Leap Forward. But this was 1963. Mao Tse-Tung eventually brought health to China, and then he died, and then Deng Xiaoping started this amazing move forward.
Isn't it strange to see that the United States first grew the economy, and then gradually got rich? Whereas China could get healthy much earlier, because they applied the knowledge of education, nutrition, and then also benefits of penicillin and vaccines and family planning. And Asia could have social development before they got the economic development. So to me, as a public health professor, it's not strange that all these countries grow so fast now.
Because what you see here, what you see here is the flat world of Thomas Friedman, isn't it. It's not really, really flat.But the middle income countries -- and this is where I suggest to my students, stop using the concept "developing world." Because after all, talking about the developing world is like having two chapters in the history of the United States.
The last chapter is about present, and president Obama,and the other is about the past, where you cover everything from Washington to Eisenhower. Because Washington to Eisenhower, that is what we find in the developing world. We could actually go to Mayflower to Eisenhower, and that would be put together into a developing world, which is rightly growing its cities in a very amazing way, which have great entrepreneurs, but also have the collapsing countries.
So, how could we make better sense about this? Well, one way of trying is to see whether we could look at income distribution. This is the income distribution of peoples in the world, from $1. This is where you have food to eat.These people go to bed hungry. And this is the number of people. This is $10, whether you have a public or a privatehealth service system. This is where you can provide health service for your family and school for your children,and this is OECD countries: Green, Latin America, East Europe. This is East Asia, and the light blue there is South Asia.
And this is how the world changed. It changed like this.Can you see how it's growing? And how hundreds of millions and billions is coming out of poverty in Asia? And it goes over here? And I come now, into projections, but I have to stop at the door of Lehman Brothers there, you know, because -- (Laughter) that's where the projections are not valid any longer. Probably the world will do this.and then it will continue forward like this. But more or less, this is what will happen, and we have a world which cannot be looked upon as divided.
We have the high income countries here, with the United States as a leading power; we have the emerging economies in the middle, which provide a lot of the funding for the bailout; and we have the low income countries here. Yeah, this is a fact that from where the money comes, they have been saving, you know, over the last decade. And here we have the low income countrieswhere entrepreneurs are. And here we have the countries in collapse and war, like Afghanistan, Somalia, parts of Congo, Darfur. We have all this at the same time.
That's why it's so problematic to describe what has happened in the developing world. Because it's so different, what has happened there. And that's why I suggest a slightly different approach of what you would call it. And you have huge differences within countries also. I heard that your departments here were by regions.Here you have Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, East Asia, Arab states, East Europe, Latin America, and OECD. And on this axis, GDP. And on this, heath, child survival, and it doesn't come as a surprise that Africa south of Sahara is at the bottom.
But when I split it, when I split it into country bubbles, the size of the bubbles here is the population. Then you see Sierra Leone and Mauritius, completely different. There is such a difference within Sub-Saharan Africa. And I can split the others. Here is the South Asian, Arab world. Now all your different departments. East Europe, Latin America, and OECD countries. And here were are. We have a continuum in the world. We cannot put it into two parts.
It is Mayflower down here. It is Washington here, building, building countries. It's Lincoln here, advancing them. It's Eisenhower bringing modernity into the countries. And then it's United States today, up here. And we have countries all this way. Now, this is the important thing of understanding how the world has changed. At this point I decided to make a pause. (Laughter)
And it is my task, on behalf of the rest of the world, to convey a thanks to the U.S. taxpayers, for Demographic Health Survey. Many are not aware of -- no, this is not a joke. This is very serious. It is due to USA's continuous sponsoring during 25 years of the very good methodologyfor measuring child mortality that we have a grasp of what's happening in the world. (Applause) And it is U.S. government at its best, without advocacy, providing facts,that it's useful for the society. And providing data free of charge on the internet, for the world to use. Thank you very much.
Quite the opposite of the World Bank, who compiled data with government money, tax money, and then they sell it to add a little profit, in a very inefficient, Gutenberg way.(Applause) But the people doing that at the World Bank are among the best in the world. And they are highly skilled professionals. It's just that we would like to upgrade our international agencies to deal with the world in the modern way, as we do. And when it comes to free data and transparency, United States of America is one of the best.And that doesn't come easy from the mouth of a Swedish public health professor. (Laughter) And I'm not paid to come here, no.
I would like to show you what happens with the data, what we can show with this data. Look here. This is the world.With income down there and child mortality. And what has happened in the world? Since 1950, during the last 50 years we have had a fall in child mortality. And it is the DHS that makes it possible to know this. And we had an increase in income. And the blue former developing countries are mixing up with the former industrialized western world. We have a continuum. But we still have, of course, Congo, up there. We still have as poor countriesas we have had, always, in history. And that's the bottom billion, where we've heard today about a completely new approach to do it.
And how fast has this happened? Well, MDG 4. The United States has not been so eager to use MDG 4. But you have been the main sponsor that has enabled us to measure it,because it's the only child mortality that we can measure.And we used to say that it should fall four percent per year.Let's see what Sweden has done. We used to boast about fast social progress. That's where we were, 1900. 1900, Sweden was there. Same child mortality as Bangladesh had, 1990, though they had lower income. They started very well. They used the aid well. They vaccinated the kids. They get better water. And they reduced child mortality,with an amazing 4.7 percent per year. They beat Sweden. I run Sweden the same 16 year period.
And third chance for Sweden, against Brazil here. Brazil here has amazing social improvement over the last 16 years, and they go faster than Sweden. This means that the world is converging. The middle income countries, the emerging economy, they are catching up. They are moving to cities, where they also get better assistance for that.
Well the Swedish students protest at this point. They say, "This is not fair, because these countries had vaccines and antibiotics that were not available for Sweden. We have to do real-time competition." Okay. I give you Singapore, the year I was born. Singapore had twice the child mortality of Sweden. It's the most tropical country in the world, a marshland on the equator. And here we go. It took a little time for them to get independent. But then they started to grow their economy. And they made the social investment. They got away malaria. They got a magnificent health system that beat both the U.S. and Sweden. We never thought it would happen that they would win over Sweden!(Applause)
All these green countries are achieving millennium development goals. These yellow are just about to be doing this. These red are the countries that doesn't do it, and the policy has to be improved. Not simplistic extrapolation. We have to really find a way of supporting those countries in a better way. We have to respect the middle income countries on what they are doing. And we have to fact-base the whole way we look at the world.
This is dollar per person. This is HIV in the countries. The blue is Africa. The size of the bubbles is how many are HIV affected. You see the tragedy in South Africa there. About 20 percent of the adult population are infected. And in spite of them having quite a high income, they have a huge number of HIV infected. But you also see that there are African countries down here. There is no such thing as an HIV epidemic in Africa. There's a number, five to 10 countries in Africa that has the same level as Sweden and United States. And there are others who are extremely high.
And I will show you that what has happened in one of the best countries, with the most vibrant economy in Africa and a good governance, Botswana. They have a very high level. It's coming down. But now it's not falling, because there, with help from PEPFAR, it's working with treatment. And people are not dying. And you can see it's not that easy, that it is war which caused this. Because here, in Congo, there is war. And here, in Zambia, there is peace.
And it's not the economy. Richer country has a little higher. If I split Tanzania in its income, the richer 20 percent in Tanzania has more HIV than the poorest one.And it's really different within each country. Look at the provinces of Kenya. They are very different. And this is the situation you see. It's not deep poverty. It's the special situation, probably of concurrent sexual partnershipamong part of the heterosexual population in some countries, or some parts of countries, in south and eastern Africa.
Don't make it Africa. Don't make it a race issue. Make it a local issue. And do prevention at each place, in the way it can be done there. So to just end up, there are things of suffering in the one billion poorest, which we don't know.Those who live beyond the cellphone, those who have yet to see a computer, those who have no electricity at home.
We have seen it here in Mozambique. This is the epidemic in Mozambique. This is an epidemic in northern Tanzania.You never heard about the disease. But it's much more than Ebola that has been affected by this disease. Cause crippling throughout the world. And over the last two years, 2,000 people has been crippled in the southern tip of Bandundu region. That used to be the illegal diamond trade, from the UNITA-dominated area in Angola. That has now disappeared, and they are now in great economic problem. And one week ago, for the first time, there were four lines on the Internet.
Don't get confused of the progress of the emerging economies and the great capacity of people in the middle income countries and in peaceful low income countries.There is still mystery in one billion. And we have to have more concepts than just developing countries and developing world. We need a new mindset. The world is converging, but -- but -- but not the bottom billion. They are still as poor as they've ever been. It's not sustainable, and it will not happen around one superpower. But you will remain one of the most important superpowers, and the most hopeful superpower, for the time to be. And this institution will have a very crucial role, not for United States, but for the world. So you have a very bad name,State Department. This is not the State Department. It's the World Department. And we have a high hope in you. Thank you very much. (Applause)
Comments (124)
srini n
Posted 9 years ago
Lies, damn lies and stats! We need a new mindset here too. We need to say "Lies, damn lies and stats - then arrived Prof Hans Rosling!
As an Indian who was tired of hearing the tag "developinnnnnnnggggggggg country" attched to muy country thru 60s to 90s, I am glad to see a professor from a 'developed nation' like Sweden batting to change mindsets about such easy compartmentalization.
The brilliant professor has brought an inordinate insight, drama to presentation and yet remebers to retain balance - walking the talk he has thanked the DHS of Uncle Sam.
Thanks professor! u r an inspiration and a voice of sanity in a generally lazy world that puts everything into one or the other box. This is truly out of box!
.
JM
Jeremy McMillan
Posted 9 years ago
Be careful of the context! Sometimes "developing country" means "pent up capacity for production and demand for goods and services." That's an expression of economic projections which come with risk, which results in the powerful admixture of wonder and fear. I think Dr. Rosling has done a great job of skewering the most overgeneralized thinking, but you will not wave off the "developing" label as long as the other kind of romance is popular.
MT
Michael Thackray
Posted 9 years ago
In reply to:
Be careful of the context! Sometimes "developing country" means "pent up capacity for production and demand for goods and services." That's an expression of economic projections which come with risk, which results in the powerful admixture of wonder and fear. I think Dr. Rosling has done a great job of skewering the most overgeneralized thinking, but you will not wave off the "developing" label as long as the other kind of romance is popular.
Jeremy McMillan
The way I saw it was that he used the term "developing country" as most people understand it. Most people merely understand it as a nice way of saying "poor." Whilst it may be incorrect by definition, it is unfortunately how most of the western world uses it.
Yuting Liu
Posted 5 years ago
This talk changed my view of the world entirely, thank you very much Dr. Rosling.
We are all slaves of stereotype created by monsters call media
I have to admit I had one of the old mindsets too before I watched this talk too, I though countries were either "poor" or "rich". It's not uncommon to have this thought, it's the one taught in schools and talked in public. After watched the talk and realize how different countries are than we think, it made me start to question what we are doing as a society.
Why are we still thinking Africa as one country?
We hear this all the time don't we? The big "Help Africa" is almost every where. Africa becomes a synonym for poverty, war, illiterate and AIDS. It’s a place full of problems waiting for us to give a helping hand.
However how many of us actually knows Africa? We’ve been bombarded with images from media of poor children, but never truly understands the problem we are trying to solve.
How many people will be shocked to know that the the world’s second largest lake by surface area - Lake Victoria and by volume - Tanganyika are in Africa? What about Africa have many mountain ranges with snow? That sounds really strange to many, but it can’t be more true.
Why are we still asking for global solutions?
There is no global solution, because there is no global issue. It’s created by many different problem. I think we should all change our mind set and make judgement on the reality rather than stereotype. As a society we have to identify the real problem and come up with solutions adress each specifically.
We cannot afford to go wrong on this, other wise the problem is only going to get worse. It's never too late to change, as long as we are committed to make it happen one day. Together we can change this mindset, and hopefully have a brand new perspective of the true reality.
Once again, thank you Dr. Rosling for this inspiring talk.
Deepak Joshi
Posted 9 years ago
Simply mind boggling....
Simon van Oortmerssen
Posted 8 years ago
Again an excellent demonstration of the importance to check your facts before you make a judgement, statement, or policy.
Thanks TED, for having posted 500(+200 some) talks that have made me think before a made a judgement, statement, or policy!
Vicki Agnew
Posted 8 years ago
Truely amazing! I am speechless.
ST
sunil tank
Posted 6 years ago
his talk is great inspiration for people like us in economic development work how to visualize development to keep changing mindests.
www.ahmedabadwebs.com
Han Jun Zeng
Posted 9 years ago
I think the part about Singapore and Sweden is really fun! He commented on it as if it was a soccer match. Great set of data and clear presentation tools/ style. Makes it easy for us to grasp the changes in the world and determine how much has each country progressed, relative to each other.
Ray Anon
Posted 7 years ago
That was my favorite part, too :D It made me almost buy and wave a Singapore flag *gg* Too bad that his matches last several decades...if they took only months, he could make an annual "Rosling Report". I wonder whether one could do that with other data, like the unemployment rates between US States? Imagine millions of Americans sitting in front of their TVs and cheering for their states :) Maybe that would even have a profound effect on politics, increasing the pressure to deliver actual results by taking effective measures...
PS
Prakarsh Singh
Posted 9 years ago
Many insights were similar to Rosling's earlier talk - but it is nevertheless refreshing to listen to him giving history commentary along side graph dynamics. I would also like to see him give possible solutions especially for countries who have not been able to decrease child mortality. Is it a demand-side or a supply-side problem?
Frank Brown
Posted 9 years ago
Here on the third rock we travel together and according to this talk are much closer together too. I'd say this talk is hopeful. As an American I hear those around me say we are the "leader" in the world. I hate to think that. We are the leading consumer nation, but not leader in intellect, in innovation, or conservation. After seeing this talk I can look to the other nations to help show us the way, it dispels the notion that the world is solely dependent on the US for everything. A lot more of "us" now than "them".
Dave Lim
Posted 9 years ago
One could say that "HANS'-SIGHT and HINDSIGHT gives us the INSIGHT to have FORESIGHT"
srini n
Posted 9 years ago
Clever construction!
srini n
Posted 9 years ago
In reply to:
One could say that "HANS'-SIGHT and HINDSIGHT gives us the INSIGHT to have FORESIGHT"
Dave Lim
Clever construction!
Sabin Muntean
Posted 9 years ago
In reply to:
One could say that "HANS'-SIGHT and HINDSIGHT gives us the INSIGHT to have FORESIGHT"
Dave Lim
Thumbs up for that one, sir! ;)
Fanny Holmberg
Posted 5 years ago
Very interesting and informative speach. As usual very understandable data and at the same time presented in a fun way! Thx for this talk!
Ray Anon
Posted 7 years ago
Rosling is as brilliant as always. He avoids an error that most people - including academicians - commit: starting with preconceived groups. That mistake sets the conclusion at the beginning, something that I call the "Creationist Fallacy" after this caricature: http://www.whydontyou.org.uk/blog/2008/08/30/the-scientific-method/ .
A real scientist instead decides for criteria, then collects the data, then leaves it to statistical measures to create groups and finally compares whether the result fits his preassumptions. In science the conclusion comes at the end, granting it a proper chance to refute wrong prejudices that we are always at risk to have.
It is refreshing and encouraging to see a prominent, educated person throwing light on this fundamental issue. The fallacy is still by far too widespread; not only among Creationists, but also among people with an academic background who *should* know better. A person who puts the conclusion at the beginning has neither understood science nor statistics. And it frightens me how many academicians do that...
KH
Keith Hodges
Posted 6 years ago
But you make a similar error, that of not appreciating the impact of your initial assumptions and world view. Two analyses carried out from the view point of two different world-views are not comparable, because of the initial assumptions made.
If your initial world view is materialism, then it is an absolute fact that the universe is tending to heat death, so there is no actual objective reason for doing science in the first place, since it makes no overall difference to anything. Your pains to express the "superiority" of the scientific method is at odds with your world-view.
If an engineer finds an old engine and wants to learn how it works, he would head to the library and see if there are any blueprints, design notes etc. As a methodology for finding out stuff, about the engine you won't find better, since the artefact on its own does not communicate context, design intent, purpose etc. Following the same analogue, the engineer would not assume that the blueprints and design documentation are lying to him. However he would then start picking up parts and looking to see where they fit on the blueprint. Thus the approach of the creationists you despise is logically consistent with their world view and their assumptions.
However, if the assumptions you make directly determines the results you obtain, then you are not learning anything much. In particular you are not learning anything that you can use to evaluate another body of work that is based upon a different set of assumptions. All you have to choose between them, is the criteria of logical consistency.
It seems to me incredulous that so many dedicate their lives to doing lots of stuff, when their choice of world-view tells then that objectively speaking they are making no difference at all.
JB
Jaime Bellmyer
Posted 6 years ago
In reply to:
But you make a similar error, that of not appreciating the impact of your initial assumptions and world view. Two analyses carried out from the view point of two different world-views are not comparable, because of the initial assumptions made. If your initial world view is materialism, then it is an absolute fact that the universe is tending to heat death, so there is no actual objective reason for doing science in the first place, since it makes no overall difference to anything. Your pains to express the "superiority" of the scientific method is at odds with your world-view. If an engineer finds an old engine and wants to learn how it works, he would head to the library and see if there are any blueprints, design notes etc. As a methodology for finding out stuff, about the engine you won't find better, since the artefact on its own does not communicate context, design intent, purpose etc. Following the same analogue, the engineer would not assume that the blueprints and design documentation are lying to him. However he would then start picking up parts and looking to see where they fit on the blueprint. Thus the approach of the creationists you despise is logically consistent with their world view and their assumptions. However, if the assumptions you make directly determines the results you obtain, then you are not learning anything much. In particular you are not learning anything that you can use to evaluate another body of work that is based upon a different set of assumptions. All you have to choose between them, is the criteria of logical consistency. It seems to me incredulous that so many dedicate their lives to doing lots of stuff, when their choice of world-view tells then that objectively speaking they are making no difference at all.
Keith Hodges
Well said. I also took exception to the speaker's preconceived notions biasing his interpretation of his own data.
He seemed to paint Mexico as a noble state equal to the US in every way except their pesky neighbor to the north leaking guns into their otherwise utopian country. He seemed to imply that this was the main thing holding them back. If this is true, then why is the US, where those guns are much more accessible to begin with, so much better off? Regardless of your position on guns, it doesn't stand to reason that access to guns is the problem when Americans have both greater access, and a higher overall standard of living.
People who see Mexico as a victim of America's gun culture need to remember that they have a LOT of government corruption that allows the drug cartels to operate freely. And incidentally, cartels have no shortage of guns with or without the US, while the common man is left defenseless.
Mexico leaks a lot more drugs into the US than the US leaks guns into Mexico, and it's that drug money that fuels criminal gun purchases. Perhaps if they fixed their own leak, the money for all these black market guns would dry up.
Hans-Peter Dr. Brunner
Posted 8 years ago
This talk is great inspiration for people like us in economic development work how to visualize development to keep changing mindests.
Nidhi Jain Seth
Posted 8 years ago
Numbers can tell a compelling story but they can be quite difficult to comprehend especially when you get too many of them all together. This is a fantastic way to present a story with statistics.
VM
VISWANATHAN Manivasagam
Posted 8 years ago
Brilliant !! I would like to know how many countires developed socially before developing economically.
PP
Patrice Palmer
Posted 8 years ago
This talk by Hans Rosling is one of his best. As a teacher, I found his comment that 'the world view that my students had, corresponded to the reality in the world the year their teachers were born' very interesting. This places a great responsibility on teachers and textbook authors/publishers (and others) to consistently update and teach their world views based upon current data, rather than what they learned during their own early education and experiences. If that happens, both education and fact-based decision-making will improve because they will be based upon current facts. Hans Rosling makes this possible with his wonderful, easily understood and accessible visualizations of data. This is empowering and gives me even greater hope for the future. Thank you Dr. Rosling and TED for disseminating this information. Convergence rocks!
HS
home swap
Posted 9 years ago
Useful information there
JM
Janet Metzger
Posted 9 years ago
This is a great companion piece to another TED talk by storyteller Chimamanda Adichie who speaks on the danger of a single story.
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story.html
JL
Jacoline Loewen
Posted 9 years ago
Hans Rosling has changed my image of the development of my world. Interesting about how the US economy developed first and then health followed while China did it the other way. China's one child policy too will have changed the care and attention and the education resources given to one child compared to having large families.
I hope some leaders from Africa are paying attention so that they can move beyond their need for Aid.
Good to see America getting thanked for its sharing of data for free on the Internet compared to the World Bank charging for data paid for by tax dollars.
Vasant Kumar
Posted 9 years ago
Rosling is brilliant as always in this talk. There is so much that countries like India and China can take away from this in terms of the power of data and information to deliver transformative public policy. Keep it coming TED!
KS
Ken Simpson
Posted 9 years ago
As usual, Hans Rosling gives a stellar talk. A must see, and one of the best TED speakers of all.
FD
Florence Diss
Posted 9 years ago
Dr. Rosling is as inspirational as ever, and his ability to shake our foundations is startling. That said, its always good to remember the limitations of statistics. Take the statistics around HIV infection throughout Africa. He mentions that Congo's rate is rather low despite the ravages of war.
We need to be very careful about the accuracy of those figures. Having been in Tanzania in February, I was able to speak with a social worker responsible for compiling exactly such statistics across Africa. She informed me that the samples in Tanzania were based on those people attending church as this was one of the only places where tests could be proposed and conducted. If that's the case across Africa, I don't want to think about how misleading the figures are.
Jennifer Indovina
Posted 9 years ago
You are correct, but in statistics, a random sample data set isn't always the best reflection of truth, therefore if the best way to collect data was to attend a church to pursue a large group of subjects willing to participate in a survey, that's better than no data. In Kenya, my experience has been that economic development and growth is a direct result of social investment.
AK
alireza khosravan
Posted 8 years ago
In reply to:
You are correct, but in statistics, a random sample data set isn't always the best reflection of truth, therefore if the best way to collect data was to attend a church to pursue a large group of subjects willing to participate in a survey, that's better than no data. In Kenya, my experience has been that economic development and growth is a direct result of social investment.
Jennifer Indovina
i like your opinion and your style .its so nice in both way
Ray Anon
Posted 7 years ago
In reply to:
Dr. Rosling is as inspirational as ever, and his ability to shake our foundations is startling. That said, its always good to remember the limitations of statistics. Take the statistics around HIV infection throughout Africa. He mentions that Congo's rate is rather low despite the ravages of war. We need to be very careful about the accuracy of those figures. Having been in Tanzania in February, I was able to speak with a social worker responsible for compiling exactly such statistics across Africa. She informed me that the samples in Tanzania were based on those people attending church as this was one of the only places where tests could be proposed and conducted. If that's the case across Africa, I don't want to think about how misleading the figures are.
Florence Diss
Your objection is perfectly valid, Florence Diss. For some reason Hans Rosling didn't address it in this TED talk, but he does so in others. There he repeatedly points out that there *are* errors in the data, but that the tremendous differences by far outweigh them. So while the data from many countries certainly lack the quality of a state-of-the-art-survey, they are nevertheless useful as indicators for the national situations.
david E
Posted 9 years ago
imagine how so many people vote based on these incorrect paradigms they tend to view the world through......seems if anything we need to find as many ways to depict the world in real time through data sets like this ( or at least as often as possible ) to make how we decide politically things relative to foreign policy and what not more relevant to what is truly in existence.
I also thought it was interesting to see how some countries developed socially before they developed economically - its very interesting - but also goes to show the root of the difference in values between the western americanized world and the other countries. Not that one is better than the other - for both need to exists on some level to keep peoples lives around the world improving over time - as one tends to push the other forward - but its just interesting to think about it seems.
Jason Lorimer
Posted 9 years ago
I have to admit some bias as I am too passionate about data, but Hans Rosling is towards the top of my "mental list" of those who inspire me.
His software, Gap Minder is equally impressive and is part of the spark that has generated new innovators looking to capitalize on the need for quality data visualization in the corporate and government markets.
I would love to see Dr. Rosling work with someone like TED presenter Jonathan Harris to create awareness around social issues.
Sabin Muntean
Posted 9 years ago
As soon as I saw Mr. Rosling's name in the talk description I knew that this was going to be a great talk. As usual, they way those bubbles of data can help change they way we think is incredible. It reminds me of Tim Berner-Lee's talk here at TED requesting for more raw data, and I fully agree. We do need more people to openly share the data they have in order to make such projects possible.
Only by looking at these facts can we make the proper decisions depending on the local issues of the problems faced.
And what is best about this talk is that it not only show us the development in the past, but also very well predicts the future. That way, by looking at how the bubbles will most likely evolve in the time to come we can prepare for the challenges ahead.
EDIT: apparently someone disagrees, I would enjoy a discussion, so leave a reply ;)
MK
Matt Kresse
Posted 9 years ago
Nah, people just trying to tarnish your medal. Great comment.
CG
Christopher Gonzales
Posted 9 years ago
In reply to:
As soon as I saw Mr. Rosling's name in the talk description I knew that this was going to be a great talk. As usual, they way those bubbles of data can help change they way we think is incredible. It reminds me of Tim Berner-Lee's talk here at TED requesting for more raw data, and I fully agree. We do need more people to openly share the data they have in order to make such projects possible. Only by looking at these facts can we make the proper decisions depending on the local issues of the problems faced. And what is best about this talk is that it not only show us the development in the past, but also very well predicts the future. That way, by looking at how the bubbles will most likely evolve in the time to come we can prepare for the challenges ahead. EDIT: apparently someone disagrees, I would enjoy a discussion, so leave a reply ;)
Sabin Muntean
Well, go back and look at the negative responses to Tim Berner-Lee for a clue. Not everyone likes to be told what to do with their data - and thats what your doing. I distribute my data with the same care and consideration I donate to charity. Some of it is personal, and people feel there privacy is at stake when others insist they share it. Some of it has value and is for sale at a reasonable cost. Feel free to give all your information away, but don't expect everyone to share in that philosophy.
Sabin Muntean
Posted 9 years ago
In reply to:
Well, go back and look at the negative responses to Tim Berner-Lee for a clue. Not everyone likes to be told what to do with their data - and thats what your doing. I distribute my data with the same care and consideration I donate to charity. Some of it is personal, and people feel there privacy is at stake when others insist they share it. Some of it has value and is for sale at a reasonable cost. Feel free to give all your information away, but don't expect everyone to share in that philosophy.
Christopher Gonzales
There you have it, a reply ;) I'm happy you write since I now know where you're coming from. Unfortunately, I have not read those comments on the other talk, but I can very well understand your point.
Also, please excuse me if my post above sounded like an order, I was merely pointing out the benefits of more data sharing; it is of course your own right to choose what to do with the data and I think you will also acknowledge it's my own right to suggest more data sharing in a comment.
I am also not going as far as saying that all data should be shared, I'm not a big fan of the planned Internet surveillance systems here in Germany myself. And I think you will agree that the data useful to such projects is not the kind of data that Google keeps gathering from your searches in order to find the proper ads.
Sabin Muntean
Posted 9 years ago
In reply to:
Well, go back and look at the negative responses to Tim Berner-Lee for a clue. Not everyone likes to be told what to do with their data - and thats what your doing. I distribute my data with the same care and consideration I donate to charity. Some of it is personal, and people feel there privacy is at stake when others insist they share it. Some of it has value and is for sale at a reasonable cost. Feel free to give all your information away, but don't expect everyone to share in that philosophy.
Christopher Gonzales
By the way, I have just found another great TED talk here: http://www.ted.com/talks/kevin_kelly_on_the_next_5_000_days_of_the_web.html
Mr. Kelly explains on how the web will transform in the next 10 years and sees the next step in linking data instead of linking pages and brings forth several good arguments to support this claim. With this linked data on the web in the future I am sure that people like Mr. Rosling will create more such graphs to change our mindsets through datasets.
Of course such advantages necessitate transparency on the web, but this is simply the direction we're moving into together. I quite doubt that people will be capable to avoid this from happening with them, since even if it won't be them, it will be the large majority who will share the data.
MA
Muhammed Amer
Posted a year ago
Mr. Hans Rosling thank you so much for your accent.
It is very clear.
AA
Amal Alhowail
Posted 3 years ago
Wow this really interesting and a third eye i can call it ... Thank You
IT
Ivan Taboas
Posted 6 years ago
This video scares me. Two years ago, a teacher at the university show me how you could also link global warming with any other random data to proof one point or the opposite. The problem with quantitative data is that conclusions seem irrefutable, even more if you filled with colors and ballons. Already happens that scientific research si contaminated by our human nature, so I have my doubts how positive is when someone invents a tool to inform/persuade and support their arguments.
On the other hand is posible that Mr Rosling is secreatly trying to alert us about how we can be easily trick because he has choosen to include during his presentation some of these dangers like working only with data that supports his point and present it in a way that is misleading.
NS
Nihan Sipahioglu
Posted 3 years ago
Your comment is also very informing asthe video. It is another perspective and I will keep that in mind everytime when is see graphics.
KM
Kevin McCallum
Posted 6 years ago
Powerful graphic design!
For me it would be interesting to see the following XY variables.
X Number of chain stores in a community
Y Size of local landfills
X number of televisions per household
Y level of civic participation
X number of community development decisions made by outside interests
Y economic stability of the community
TS
Trevor Self
Posted 6 years ago
@Kevin McCallum:
Interesting, yes, but the data alone would not indicate causality (assuming that you are interested because you think X might be influencing Y in each of those cases). For each of those pairings, it is entirely plausible that Y influences X or that a third variable influences both.
RS
Robert Swope
Posted 6 years ago
I link to this video and discuss some of the issues with data analysis and causality here:
http://www.robertswope.com/home/2012/5/24/issues-with-presenting-and-understanding-data.html
ST
sunil tank
Posted 6 years ago
his talk is great inspiration for people like us in economic development work how to visualize development to keep changing mindests.
www.ahmedabadwebs.com
Salim Solaiman
Posted 7 years ago
Hans is an amazing storyteller, love his talk. With him DATA become live, start talking. Data at his hand talks history, politics, economics, sociology and so on.................. Thanks to TED for offering the opportunity to come across people like Hans and other great speakers who are also DOers ...........
SJ
Sepideh Javaherian
Posted 8 years ago
This method of getting data out of spreadsheets are the best way to see the big picture.
it would be really interesting if Hans Rosling used this method to showed the effect of inequality in each of the developed countries on the average health, life expectancy, and child mortality.
XF
Xixi Fu
Posted 9 years ago
awesome! fantastic! I really like the way and perspective he looks at and think about the whole world.
Andrej Andreev
Posted 9 years ago
I am translating this video into russian and would like to reveal some "unclearnesses" in the speech (as it transcripted in subtitles). The first is at the time 08:39 Hans joke there about "stopping at the door of Lehman Brothers", who collapsed last year.
Second is at the time 18:23, where he talks about diamonds, got to market "from UNITA dominated area in Angola".
Dear transcripters and translators, you are doing great and very important job. So, please, do your best to get exact meaning and sense. Thank you all very much.
JC
Julie Cummings-Debrot
Posted 9 years ago
Brilliant! You make it sound sooooooooooooooooooooo simple - let's hope the message gets through to the movers and shakers of this planet.
Rich Eagles
Posted 9 years ago
A part of me loves the idea of using the data to change the perspective in those who have been trapped by a long passed paradigm, but I find myself wrapped up in questions more than answers (which is a longstanding effect of Ted talks with me).
In the end, perhaps I find that I was more interested in the initial premise of the talk (many have a skewed world-view based on a faded vision of the past) than in the visualizations which led to alternate messages. That is, I find many of the comments on this talk focused on the visualization when I enjoyed the talk much more for the expose of the false pretense we all cling to (feel free to exclude yourself from such pretense, it is too strong a statement).
In the end, I found this to be one of my favorite talks on Ted, but had wished the point that we shouldn't be so caught up in the "is" if you could spend more time in the "future potential" was more prominent in the latter part of the lecture.
EW
Elizabeth Wellburn
Posted 9 years ago
The data visualization shows the patterns of what has been (and *is*) in a way that feels alive. It's an amazing tool. Extremely accessible. This has got to be a huge step towards getting more and more people to buy in to what's needed for a better future -- it makes it so real and clarifies things that were difficult to see.
AP
Aaron Phillips
Posted 9 years ago
I am no economist so would appreciate others clarifications...
Does anyone know whether the income figures are inflation adjusted?
I wonder whether the catch up is as impressive as proposed if changes in purchasing power were also accounted for, particularly when many of the scales are logarithmic.
Say a country has a $1,000 income per person per year in 2000 and another country, industrialising earlier, had a $1,000 per person per year in the 1950s. Assume a loss in purchasing power of 25% for the 5 decades, then wouldn't that mean the country showing $1,000 income per person per year in 2000 was 25% worse off, in terms of purchasing power, than the country they were compared to that had $1,000 income per person in 1950? Therefore they wouldn't be at the same "stage", the 2000 $1,000 per person country would still have been be 25% behind the 1950s country... (hope that makes some sense and happy to be corrected).
PG
Peter Gullak
Posted 9 years ago
The numbers have been adjusted for inflation, otherwise they wont be comparable.
Secondly, there are different ways of measuring worth of money from two different time periods. Most commenly used is a price index to compare worth in a given desired year.
Your example is confusing so i wont try to explain that one without mixing something up.
AP
Aaron Phillips
Posted 9 years ago
In reply to:
The numbers have been adjusted for inflation, otherwise they wont be comparable. Secondly, there are different ways of measuring worth of money from two different time periods. Most commenly used is a price index to compare worth in a given desired year. Your example is confusing so i wont try to explain that one without mixing something up.
Peter Gullak
Thanks. Was not sure if they had been inflation adjusted. Example was kind of pointless I guess.
MH
Marilynn Hill
Posted 9 years ago
Absolutely enlightening once again. Dr. Rosling's talks always have me at the edge of my seat in not only the data, but sometimes the resulting surprising conclusions. While sometimes the data can be disturbing, Dr. Rosling always delivers the information in not absolutists terms, but with a real sense of hope in that as a group of concerned citizens, we can come together and make progress, even if it the movement in the data is small, change can still be measured. As citizens of the world can have both small and large impacts, solely because we choose too take a leadership role in healing humanity one soul at a time. Thank you Dr. Rosling, bravo!
OO
oussama oussama
Posted 9 years ago
well..! we'd better update our definitions..cuz' developing coutries don't mean the same anymore!
anyway, This guy is really funny!
HH
Hiba Hassan
Posted a year ago
Interesting, yes,
PS
Pedro Aureliano Silva
Posted 2 years ago
Quando vemos que é fácil a nossa mudança, conseguimos explica melhor.
Ver que conseguimos conviver com todas as ferramentas distribuídas em lugares específicos começamos a ver a convivência e notamos a importância das convenções e dos hábitos nas diversas culturas, a liberdade nos darão mais opções.
Por isso é necessário aprender sobre configuração social, influências e a capacidade d nos divertir com tudo isso.
Para conviver com todas as ferramentas precisamos abandonar as idéias que nos prendem ao dinheiro que foi por muito tempo a nossa forma de organização.
O mercado não tem gratidão, nem vida para defender, ele reage aos lucros, com ou sem a moral.
Escolhemos nossos fardos nas configuração que escolhemos viver nas nossas sociedades.
PS
Pedro Aureliano Silva
Posted 2 years ago
Vejo que tem uma ligação muito forte pela forma que os ancestrais tem nos ensinado como únicas escolhas.
Se seguíssemos as recomendações da igreja a terra estaria achatada nas nossas cabeças ainda.
PS
Pedro Aureliano Silva
Posted 2 years ago
In reply to:
Quando vemos que é fácil a nossa mudança, conseguimos explica melhor. Ver que conseguimos conviver com todas as ferramentas distribuídas em lugares específicos começamos a ver a convivência e notamos a importância das convenções e dos hábitos nas diversas culturas, a liberdade nos darão mais opções. Por isso é necessário aprender sobre configuração social, influências e a capacidade d nos divertir com tudo isso. Para conviver com todas as ferramentas precisamos abandonar as idéias que nos prendem ao dinheiro que foi por muito tempo a nossa forma de organização. O mercado não tem gratidão, nem vida para defender, ele reage aos lucros, com ou sem a moral. Escolhemos nossos fardos nas configuração que escolhemos viver nas nossas sociedades.
Pedro Aureliano Silva
É importante conviver com todas os objetos para a nossa formação, e para isso precisamos dar a liberdade de utilização que seria através do acesso.
Continuamos a formar pessoas, hoje com muito mais acesso a informação e maior capacidade para recusar os "nãos" que a sociedade nos impõe.
PS
Pedro Aureliano Silva
Posted 2 years ago
In reply to:
Quando vemos que é fácil a nossa mudança, conseguimos explica melhor. Ver que conseguimos conviver com todas as ferramentas distribuídas em lugares específicos começamos a ver a convivência e notamos a importância das convenções e dos hábitos nas diversas culturas, a liberdade nos darão mais opções. Por isso é necessário aprender sobre configuração social, influências e a capacidade d nos divertir com tudo isso. Para conviver com todas as ferramentas precisamos abandonar as idéias que nos prendem ao dinheiro que foi por muito tempo a nossa forma de organização. O mercado não tem gratidão, nem vida para defender, ele reage aos lucros, com ou sem a moral. Escolhemos nossos fardos nas configuração que escolhemos viver nas nossas sociedades.
Pedro Aureliano Silva
Obrigado!
Ricardo Carvalho
Posted 5 years ago
Love this talk.
RG
Robelyn Garcia
Posted 5 years ago
Rosling commends the United States and feels the U.S. has helped the rest of the world develop by sharing important public health data. When addressing his audience at the U.S. State Department he says, “This is not the State Department, this is the World Department” (Rosling, 2009).
Developing countries use soap and water, vaccinations and family planning to become healthier. Many “Developing” countries are catching up with the United States and other super powers by becoming educated and gaining access to life essentials. The data provided by the United States has been a big part of this trend.
The Mayflower to Eisenhower was a developing time for the United States and other parts of the world. The United States and other countries were at this time referred to as a Developing world. Mayflower at the beginning, Washington building countries, Lincoln advancing countries, Eisenhower bringing modernity to countries, and Obama in the present world. As the United States developed and got wealthier the United States got healthier, except for the period of Influenza.
During this same time, China’s trend was, and continues to be, to look forward toward a long-term view of public health. The Chinese applied education of public health to become healthier before they become wealthier. Child mortality rates (an indicator of overall health) lowers when food is provided for the poor, you have a safer water supply, and when vaccinations are available. The world is converging and the middle-income countries are catching up to the power countries by applying these principles. The middle economic countries have changed the most and bear most of the economic burden as well. Countries like China, with emerging economies are providing the money for bailouts. This fascinating data-presentation can burst myths about “Them”, the developing world. Instead of thinking first world and third world we all should be thinking converging world.
RG
Robelyn Garcia
Posted 5 years ago
Part 1 review: The old mindset "We" and "Them" is the Western world and the Developing world. This is also commonly known as and referred to as first world countries and third world countries. Under this mindset the Western world is living a long life in a small family and the Developing world is living a short life in a large family (Rosling, 2009). Hans Rosling, who is a master at presenting statistics, can transfer this mindset to a dataset by graphically showing that overtime as the family size increased life expectancy decreased. Rosling is an excellent analyst of data and has capitalized on the basic human preference of visual presentation (Meithe & Gauthier, 2008). The data he displays also shows as the family size decreased life expectancy increased. This was mainly describing what happens in the bedroom and kitchen. In the bedroom it is having children and in the kitchen it is having soap, water and food. So if you have less children (via family planning) you will live longer and if you have access to soap, water and food you will also live longer. However, life expectancy is changing in the developing world.
The new mindset requires a fact-based worldview. “Does your mindset equal my dataset? If not, one of them needs upgrading” (Rosling, 2009). The new mindset requires convergence of our view of "We" and "Them". However, this convergence does not yet include the bottom billion poorest, is not yet sustainable, and is not around one super power country. The individual’s mindset and worldview typically corresponds to the year your teachers and mentors are born. “My basic idea is that the world has changed so much, what people need isn’t more data but a new mindset” (Rosling, 2009). Rosling also believes that three concepts will continue to help promote the new mindset. These three ideas are being data literate, remixing data, and sharing information.
JP
John Pienta
Posted 5 years ago
This is an example of amazing usage of visualization to represent data in an understandable way. I have noticed that many people here are attacking the notion of using data to show causality. He is not using data to prove a point per se but he is using the data to contradict the theory of the status quo. There is a fine line in science between having a theory based on fundamental knowledge that predicts changes and being able to find a serendipitous explanation to link to a trend in data. It is my opinion that he manages to err on the side of the former and avoid the latter. Thank you Dr. Rosling, you are a great inspiration to me and many others!
JB
John Brock
Posted 6 years ago
Both digitally and communicatively, one of the best presentations of data I have ever seen.
LE
L E English
Posted 6 years ago
Enjoyed the information. I truly like the comment made "there is no such thing as a HIV epidemic in Africa", it is not a race issue", especially since other countries such as Thailand, India, Russia, and USA has HIV have the same ratios of the disease.
JH
Jessica Hennick
Posted 8 years ago
Why is data so inaccessible? What is he doing to change this? could someone explain this to me please?
SP
Stefan Persson
Posted 6 years ago
I think what he really is saying is that it's unreliable and this is why he's so found of this data since it's not flavoured and usable as a base. But I could be wrong.
yang yangzi
Posted 8 years ago
演示的不错 很好 也很幽默
RK
robert kelly
Posted 8 years ago
The cassava root mentioned is limited in proteins yet it is a staple food in many African, middle/ south American diets. I think it was Paul Stamets (a ted speaker) that wrote about the cassava root as a nutritional deficient food into a starchy mush that can be used to grow mushrooms upon which have a high protein content. If anyone is traveling to areas where diseases occur due to nutritional deficiencies, please bring along this knowledge.
Ray Anon
Posted 7 years ago
Hello Robert, it is not easy to distinguish between hard facts and unreliable hearsay. And checking every information costs time and energy. So if you could take the effort to provide sources and explanations regarding the points you brought forth, that would be of great help. Thanks in advance in the name of those who will use that information :)
JC
Jasmine Chua
Posted 9 years ago
The talk is great! I am in training business. could anyone tell me how to creat a online talk doc like this, which can switch btw the lecturer and the monitor for supporting materials? Thanks in adv!
EL
Esther Law
Posted 9 years ago
WOW! What a GREAt talk! I just LOVE talks with data and great visuals and analysis. Granted, I felt a little like I was riding the space shuttle with the top down and my helmet off. *laughing* Marvelous talk. I could listen to him forever.
Erik van Ryssen
Posted 9 years ago
Indeed a very inspiring presentation.
What I am surprised about mostly in the comments of the viewers here, is the lack of understanding for the fact that up to date date, controlable, objective and accurate data are of practically no influence on the formation of opinion for the majority of people in this world. Not with the intention to offend anyone or insult, I dare to say that the large majority of people take life changing decisions on based on information from unreliable sources. And most people take ALL information they get for granted depending on HOW it is presented and not by checking it's source. Publicity is the best example of that. How many people really believe they'll get product x cheaper when they are being told so by a slick sales person on a television add? If that goes for this, it also goes for other information. People don't check sources, and don't re-evaluate information they receive.
GV
Gabriel Vivas
Posted 9 years ago
If you liked this, please consider joining the Zeitgeist Movement and supporting the Venus Project.
www.thevenusproject.com - www.thezeitgeistmovement.com
DL
david lee
Posted 9 years ago
kind notice , billion may be 10 %u4EBF while seems to be 1 %u4EBF in the translated version
Axel Hållén
Posted 9 years ago
It's strange. This guy makes me proud to be from Sweden. I mean I don't believe there should be boarders dividing the earth. We live on a biosphare that is effected by us all and effect us all... And still this guy makes me proud to be from Sweden.. strange hu.. I guess he makes people form the USA proud that there from the USA as well. Good talk like that.
MT
Michael Thackray
Posted 9 years ago
It's so refreshing to know the world isn't as screwed as the media and the charities and religious organizations are telling us. Life is improving! Humans are evolving! It's nice to feel like things are being made better.
gabriel abbott
Posted 9 years ago
at state... where do we go naw- to understand what responsibilities await this country; and belief that it will own up and justice it's fair share that so long we have taxed is another episode. i hope that all understand to carry forward requires the measure of talent, caliber of person, and down right raised right to keep on walking.
Saurabh Hooda
Posted 9 years ago
Data has never been presented in such a beautiful manner. Hans Rosling will create new fanatics for Analytics; he already got me.
CW
Colin van Waardenberg
Posted 9 years ago
Thank you TED, for letting Hans come and talk again. Inspiring, really really inspiring. Improving data availability, transparency and usability (As hans conveys perfectly) will rocket our world into new heights of prosperity and health, I am sure of it!
RH
Rasmus Ostenfeld Holme
Posted 9 years ago
Thank you to TED for inviting Hans Rosling once again, he is the main reason that I keep coming back :) The man is not only good at presenting his research he is also funny and gapminder.org is a great toy/tool.
Naturally, I don't accept all of his conclusions but that is very different subject :)
LW
Leonard Walstad
Posted 9 years ago
Unfortunately, he repeated the myth that most of the guns in Mexico are coming from the US. In fact, most of the guns THAT CAN BE TRACED are coming from the US. Most of the guns can't be tracked. These come from many places. Relatively few of those guns come from the US. So, most guns certainly come from other places.
JM
Jeremy McMillan
Posted 9 years ago
Whoa there cowboy! If those guns can't be traced, how would you know anything about the distribution of untraceable mexican guns' origins?
JN
J_ Neo
Posted 9 years ago
The world is converging, 'except the bottom 1 bio?!' - that is simply not good enough. As a former investment banker who walked out of the industry after witnessing shocking accounts of greed from the west leading up to, during and even post 'financial meltdown', I believe I am qualified to comment on the shocking levels of greed that have been around in the west since the 80's. When a region builds its economic strength by implementing a system that exploits other countries and people for decades (centuries), it is simply not good enough to make comparisons with developing nations from 1916 and suggest that 'we are on the road to success'. If we cannot accelerate this convergence (not to mention look after that largely dismissed 1/6 of the human population) there is little hope for our species to flourish in the centuries to come. The internet (and sources of information like Ted) are leading a paradigm shift in human consciousness, for this reason I am eternally hopeful.
Ragnar Birko
Posted 9 years ago
"convergence BUT not sustainable..."
Sobering and no doubt true statement but pity he didn't show enough data supporting this statement. I hope if he reads this reply he will show us in the future data that points out our predicament with the lack of sustainability in our human affairs.
All his talks are so darn good. I want more.
SL
Staffan Landin
Posted 9 years ago
If you want mor videos with Hans Rosling, please check out Gapminders webpage. There you'll find more lectures, but also shorter screen recordings and web casts.
http://www.gapminder.org/videos/
/Staffan, Gapminder
JM
Jeremy McMillan
Posted 9 years ago
In reply to:
"convergence BUT not sustainable..." Sobering and no doubt true statement but pity he didn't show enough data supporting this statement. I hope if he reads this reply he will show us in the future data that points out our predicament with the lack of sustainability in our human affairs. All his talks are so darn good. I want more.
Ragnar Birko
Sustainability: measures like infant mortality, as they progress, approach a limit at zero. If we are all doing well at reducing infant mortality, the rate of progress MUST be unsustainable. I think issues of sustainability might imply either fixed or variable limiting factors. The fixed factors don't require much discussion if they are implied on the scale of measurement.
BG
Brad Guillory
Posted 9 years ago
The way his personality and his website bring information to the public so lucidly and persuasively is unparalleled from all the talks I've watched from TED. Here he breaks apart our conceptions of developing countries and literally delineates the problems plaguing so many countries.
JL
Joseph Linnett
Posted 9 years ago
Everyone at TED.com is talking with their hands.
Gabriel .C
Posted 9 years ago
Thank you for sharing you contagious excitement and brilliance with us once more Dr. Rosling. A fascinating dissection of world economic and social development.
By the way everyone, here is a link to his aforementioned website:
http://www.gapminder.org/
A must-see.
Jonny Gibaud
Posted 9 years ago
oh to have Hans as a lecturer while I was studying. Go Hans and challenge conventional thinking with your data.
Ulf Moberg
Posted 9 years ago
I love Hans Rosling!
Khon Lieu
Posted 9 years ago
this guy is so inspirational
LG
Lee Goddard
Posted 9 years ago
Engaging and entertaining - a superb use of a superb dataset, brilliantly visualised.
DS
David Shaw
Posted 9 years ago
One wonders how many people unvoluntarily placed in shallow graves are not accounted in the analysis?
