Factfulness

ISBN: 978-1-473-63749-8

First published 2018

329 pages

Publisher: sceptrebooks.co.uk

Designed by Steven Seighman

5 / 5 Stars

A truly ground-breaking book. Momentous in its scale and purview.

The world has developed faster than you can imagine. That is the first take-away.

The second is that income differences have by far the largest impact on human existence. Well above and beyond any cultural, social or linguistic differences.

Have a look at https://www.gapminder.org/dollar-street if you don’t believe. The biggest differences are not where you live, but the income you live on. For example, a bedroom for a Level 4 family looks the same whether in China or the US, a Level 1 bedroom is the same whether in Burkina Faso or the US.

For example,

• News feed are mostly bad news, but things can be BAD but can also be getting BETTER.
• 2 data points make a straight line, but most lines never stay straight, they curve at some point
• Distinguish between ‘frightening’ and ‘dangerous’. Always tackle ‘dangerous’ first.
• Be aware of large numbers. What do they relate to? What is the trend?
• Beware that a category is not an explanation. What happens within the group? Are there differences? What are similarities across groups?
• Remember slow change is still change (and will accumulate)
• Be open to ideas from other fields
• Look for answers in causes and systems, not individuals (or villains)
• Control the urgency instinct, its very rare the house will be on fire, instead
  • Breathe deeply
  • Gather the data
  • Challenge predictions
  • Deny drastic action. Take effective action

Here are the 10 factfulness lessons in full: