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A review by jorisvanmens
Numbers Don't Lie: 71 Things You Need to Know About the World by Vaclav Smil
4.0
Very enjoyable light read that briefly covers numerous macroeconomic and societal topics such as population, energy and human development. Beyond what the title suggests, there's a lot of opinion in this book as well, reflecting Smil's world view.
A few random tidbits:
- Building insulation is key to reducing our energy consumption, and triple glass (with inert gas) leads to significantly better savings than double glass, though is still rarely used
- Human Development Index (HDI) is a better measure of progress & well-being than GDP; North-West Europe has highest HDIs
- The 1880s were a significant source of innovation defining our modern era (skyscrapers, thermal- and hydro-power systems, Coca Cola, elevators, gas turbines, ballpoint pens and vending machines, etc.)
- The world has more cattle biomass than human biomass
- It may be too early to call our geological epoch the Anthropocene: humans have no effect on the large forces defining previous epochs such as plate tectonics, the planet's orbital path, volcanic eruptions, asteroids, etc.
Fun book.
A few random tidbits:
- Building insulation is key to reducing our energy consumption, and triple glass (with inert gas) leads to significantly better savings than double glass, though is still rarely used
- Human Development Index (HDI) is a better measure of progress & well-being than GDP; North-West Europe has highest HDIs
- The 1880s were a significant source of innovation defining our modern era (skyscrapers, thermal- and hydro-power systems, Coca Cola, elevators, gas turbines, ballpoint pens and vending machines, etc.)
- The world has more cattle biomass than human biomass
- It may be too early to call our geological epoch the Anthropocene: humans have no effect on the large forces defining previous epochs such as plate tectonics, the planet's orbital path, volcanic eruptions, asteroids, etc.
Fun book.