A little research and scientific inquiry can go a long way. "Factfulness" by Rosling (the 'bubble graph guy')

Title: Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World – and Why Things are Better Than You Think

Authors: Hans Rosling, Anna Rosling Ronnlund, and Ola Rosling

Reviewer: Richard Sesek (educator, wantrepreneur)

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Topic/Intent of book: To help people make better sense and use of data. Data can be used to mislead or misinform (intentionally or otherwise). This book details how you can better understand and interpret data to make better informed decisions. How much is something impacting outcomes? How much difference does an individual action/decision/outcome make in the greater scheme of things? Bottom line: a little research and scientific inquiry can go a long way!

I selected this book because: This book is by the “bubble graph guy” (gapminder.org) Hans Rosling. I have enjoyed his Ted Talks and videos and was interested his perspective on things at a more in-depth level.

Recommendation: Yes. This book is excellent and is a nice complement to the book “The Death of Expertise” (Tom Nichols).

Major lessons from this book: Ignorance is everywhere and we need to see it when presented in others, but also in ourselves. Many decisions have an artificial time pressure. Taking a moment to make sure that you are thinking clearly and fully/properly utilizing statistics can minimize the likelihood (or at least severity) of many bad/sub-optimal decisions. Rosling presents 10 instincts that tend to warp/influence our perspectives. Some of the major principles are: a false urgency, a tendency to look for and assign blame, and the common assumption of linearity (“straight line instinct”), among others.

Book Inspirations: Take time to slow down and make thoughtful, data-driven decisions. Most decisions are not as time sensitive as we perceive them. I will share the concepts, particularly about computing rates rather than using “raw numbers”, when working with my students. I have recommended this book to my PhD students.