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leevoncarbon's review
challenging
informative
reflective
4.75
“Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think.” With that subtitle, one might expect that the author(s) are utopian fantasists. But as the main title indicates, his real purpose is to challenge us to allow good data to lead us to good conclusions. Brilliantly written, he identifies the 10 different lenses we can wear that distort our vision. I personally share the Christian hope of a new heaven and earth and believe that all will not be well until that comes to pass. But I recognize in my Christian community how in a misguided effort to validate our conviction, we can be prone to put on tinted glasses that create the impression that everything is bad and getting worse. But the credibility of our hopeful message is lost when we simply get our facts wrong. As is stated in another of our convictions, it is the truth that sets us free.
hillie's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
Amazing book!
Echt een geweldig boek! Ik had het al lang op mijn lijstje, ik wist al een beetje waar het over ging, maar het sluit helemaal aan bij mijn dilemma's in mijn dagelijks leven: omgaan met nieuws, omgaan met klimaatproblemen en 'wij'/'zij' denken, hoe om te gaan met ideeën zoals noord/zuid splitsing. Het deed me ook veel denken aan m'n werk in klimaatadaptatie: de noodzaak om te monitoren, om te kijken naar de meerderheid om een kloof te voorkomen, etc. De reflectiviteit en openheid van de auteur in zijn verhalen is verfrissend en maakt het boek levendig. Het is geen dun boek, maar ik denk dat ik bijna nooit zo snel door een non-fictieboek ben gegaan. Heel goed en een aanrader voor iedereen!
Echt een geweldig boek! Ik had het al lang op mijn lijstje, ik wist al een beetje waar het over ging, maar het sluit helemaal aan bij mijn dilemma's in mijn dagelijks leven: omgaan met nieuws, omgaan met klimaatproblemen en 'wij'/'zij' denken, hoe om te gaan met ideeën zoals noord/zuid splitsing. Het deed me ook veel denken aan m'n werk in klimaatadaptatie: de noodzaak om te monitoren, om te kijken naar de meerderheid om een kloof te voorkomen, etc. De reflectiviteit en openheid van de auteur in zijn verhalen is verfrissend en maakt het boek levendig. Het is geen dun boek, maar ik denk dat ik bijna nooit zo snel door een non-fictieboek ben gegaan. Heel goed en een aanrader voor iedereen!
ssaba's review
5.0
For every person that rated this book 4 stars and below, I am truly surprised. And truly disappointed. That is a huge sign that you did not read it thoroughly.
For the people that are saying he is pretentious, did you read till the end of the book? I thought we readers aren't biased with our opinion and form an opinion when we gather enough information to give a meticulous review? Or am I missing something?.
If I ask you now, “how do you think the current rate of progression is in the world?” you'd probably reply with, “pretty torpid” or “not so well”. And I don't blame you.
You and I and everyone else have a pretty distorted view of our world!! It's tragic how we have such a dull perspective. And this book will show you how to change the way you look at not only the external world but how you view YOUR personal world, your life. This book will teach you many things, and I'm not exaggerating. Which is one of the lessons of the book.
By all accounts, this is a masterpiece. Every teacher, police officer, accountant, mayor, doctor, nurse, student, professor, father or mother has got to read this. This is an important read, by an important figure.
But there are some points I’d like to bring the light on. Sometimes he can be a bit confident, and it might be somewhat annoying to us readers. Although he has a right! He has information that people barely believe and when you find a truth that everyone sees is doubtful and refuse to believe, you can get a bit frustrated, as he explained in the last few pages. He can also be a bit redundant with some topics. But this doesn't even come close to the amount of awareness subsidized in these chapters.
Please give it a read. You will not regret it.
For the people that are saying he is pretentious, did you read till the end of the book? I thought we readers aren't biased with our opinion and form an opinion when we gather enough information to give a meticulous review? Or am I missing something?.
If I ask you now, “how do you think the current rate of progression is in the world?” you'd probably reply with, “pretty torpid” or “not so well”. And I don't blame you.
You and I and everyone else have a pretty distorted view of our world!! It's tragic how we have such a dull perspective. And this book will show you how to change the way you look at not only the external world but how you view YOUR personal world, your life. This book will teach you many things, and I'm not exaggerating. Which is one of the lessons of the book.
By all accounts, this is a masterpiece. Every teacher, police officer, accountant, mayor, doctor, nurse, student, professor, father or mother has got to read this. This is an important read, by an important figure.
But there are some points I’d like to bring the light on. Sometimes he can be a bit confident, and it might be somewhat annoying to us readers. Although he has a right! He has information that people barely believe and when you find a truth that everyone sees is doubtful and refuse to believe, you can get a bit frustrated, as he explained in the last few pages. He can also be a bit redundant with some topics. But this doesn't even come close to the amount of awareness subsidized in these chapters.
Please give it a read. You will not regret it.
schunter59's review
3.0
Key takeaways:
- We tend to underestimate progress in the world, with people consistently predicting downward trends;
- The vast majority of the world is now middle-income
- There are various instincts that lead us to falsity. This includes the size instinct, the urgency instinct, blame instinct, the generalisation instinct, straight line instinct.
- Rosling has had a very interesting career. Is examples span lectures to a range of organisations, academic teaching and medical work in sub-Saharan, Africa and Kerala.
I think Rosling at times can be pretty teleological; he paints a picture of continual (and fairly linear) progress. He also spends a lot of time arguing that culture is inherently shiftable but, in those sections, creeps into economic determinism.
I think this book may have been a useful corrective set the timer it was written. I still think Mary would benefit from reading it, but I think the vision that it paints of a progressively improving world in which all countries are converging on a similar path looks outdated.
fellrnr's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
5.0
A great look at things we believe, but aren't true.