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Hans Rosling

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varian Sun 19-Feb-17 19:52:44

Hans Rosling, Swedish public health physician, brilliant statistician and presenter of facts and figures about our world has sadly passed away. If you have never heard of him please watch this Ted lecture:

www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_shows_the_best_stats_you_ve_ever_seen

I am posting this on the Politics forum as a counterbalance to the post truth attitudes we see around us now. Hans Rosling dealt in truth, verified by numbers and showed us how to understand the world as it has changed over time and is now. Much of what he shows us to be true is counter-intuitive and very revealing. Some facts he shows us may even cheer you up.

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thatbags Sun 19-Feb-17 21:21:59

He was such a positive person. Thanks for the link, varian.

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varian Mon 20-Feb-17 14:01:58

In his talk "How not to be ignorant about the world" Hans Rosling first demonstrated how wrong most people are in their assumptions, on average guessing the wrong answer more often than chimpanzees, who just guessed at random, then examined the causes of bias - our limited personal experience, having learned out of date facts and the media bias towards unusual, sensational events making us think they occur far more often than they do.

www.ted.com/talks/hans_and_ola_rosling_how_not_to_be_ignorant_about_the_world

Our ignorance of the truth, and growing disregard for it, explains a great deal about the growth of populism.

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Elegran Mon 20-Feb-17 15:16:16

That is a most illuminating talk, varian. All those people who scorn statistics because it is made boring and they don't understand them should watch it!

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