Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World - and Why Things Are Better Than You Think

「這是我所讀過最重要的一本書之一，助人頭腦清晰地思考這個世界的一本必備指南！」─比爾‧蓋茲Bill Gates (2018.04.03)
 
　　我們總希望在面對事情時可以是客觀的，針對世界的現狀──無論是有多少比例的世界人口正處於貧窮、為何世界人口持續成長、多少女孩能順利完成學業──我們也希望能得出正確的觀察。但事實上，對這些事情我們一再地給出了錯誤的結論，而且錯得如此離譜，以至於找一隻黑猩猩隨機地選答案，成功率竟然都比教師、記者、諾貝爾獎得主、投資銀行家還要高！這到底是怎麼一回事？
 
　　原來問題在我們並不知道自己不知道哪些事，除此之外，我們的猜測往往受到不自覺且可預期的偏見所影響。作者漢斯‧洛斯林Hans Rosling在本書揭露了「十個扭曲我們看清實事的直覺本能」──從我們傾向把世界分為兩個陣營的習慣（通常是某種版本的我們v.s.他們的思維）、我們吸收媒體訊息的方式（由恐懼所主宰），來到我們如何認知進步（我們寧願相信多數事情正變得越來越糟糕）。
 
　　原來世界並沒有我們所擔憂的那麼糟糕，當我們屏除了這些遮蔽的偏見，我們才能讓事實真實地顯現，也才可以真正針對問題所在對症下藥。一本充滿啟發性的作品，充滿生動的軼事與動人的故事，本書是TED人氣講者，享譽國際的學者漢斯‧洛斯林Hans Rosling於2017逝世前傾力完成的作品，也是一本切合時代所需的書，改變我們觀看世界的方式，並賦予我們力量，面對未來。(文/博客來編譯)
 
　　“One of the most important books I’ve ever read―an indispensable guide to thinking clearly about the world.” – Bill Gates
 
　　“Hans Rosling tells the story of ‘the secret silent miracle of human progress’ as only he can. But Factfulness does much more than that. It also explains why progress is so often secret and silent and teaches readers how to see it clearly.” ―Melinda Gates
 
Factfulness: The stress-reducing habit of only carrying opinions for which you have strong supporting facts.
　 
　　When asked simple questions about global trends―what percentage of the world’s population live in poverty; why the world’s population is increasing; how many girls finish school―we systematically get the answers wrong. So wrong that a chimpanzee choosing answers at random will consistently outguess teachers, journalists, Nobel laureates, and investment bankers.
 
　　In Factfulness, Professor of International Health and global TED phenomenon Hans Rosling, together with his two long-time collaborators, Anna and Ola, offers a radical new explanation of why this happens. They reveal the ten instincts that distort our perspective―from our tendency to divide the world into two camps (usually some version of us and them) to the way we consume media (where fear rules) to how we perceive progress (believing that most things are getting worse).
 
　　Our problem is that we don’t know what we don’t know, and even our guesses are informed by unconscious and predictable biases.
 
　　It turns out that the world, for all its imperfections, is in a much better state than we might think. That doesn’t mean there aren’t real concerns. But when we worry about everything all the time instead of embracing a worldview based on facts, we can lose our ability to focus on the things that threaten us most.
 
　　Inspiring and revelatory, filled with lively anecdotes and moving stories, Factfulness is an urgent and essential book that will change the way you see the world and empower you to respond to the crises and opportunities of the future.
 
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　　“This book is my last battle in my life-long mission to fight devastating ignorance…Previously I armed myself with huge data sets, eye-opening software, an energetic learning style and a Swedish bayonet for sword-swallowing. It wasn’t enough. But I hope this book will be.” Hans Rosling, February 2017.
 
Review
 
　　“One of the most important books I’ve ever read―an indispensable guide to thinking clearly about the world.” – Bill Gates
 
　　“Wonderful… a passionate and erudite message that is all more moving because it comes from beyond the grave… His knack for presentation and delight in statistics come across on every page. Who else would choose a chart of ’guitars per capita’ as a proxy for human progress?” ―The Financial Times
 
　　“[Factfulness] throws down a gauntlet to doom-and-gloomers in global health by challenging preconceptions and misconceptions [and] is a fabulous read, succinct and lively… This magnificent book ends with a plea for a factual world view. Rosling was optimistic that this outlook will spread, because it is a useful navigational tool in a complex world, and a genuine antidote to negativity and hopelessness. A just tribute to this book and the man would be a global day of celebration for facts about our world. Perhaps Trump should lead the charge on that.” ―Nature
 
　　"Like any good statistician, Rosling uses the tools of his trade (namely, graphs, charts and lots of questionnaires) to argue we’re doing too much feeling and not enough thinking when it comes to assessing the world…His goal is to change the way we see the world." ―Business Insider
 
　　“In an accessible, almost folksy prose, Rosling identifies various reasons why so many of us have ended up with so many faulty ideas about our world.” ―Booklist
 
　　“Hans Rosling tells the story of ‘the secret silent miracle of human progress’ as only he can. But Factfulness does much more than that. It also explains why progress is so often secret and silent and teaches readers how to see it clearly.” ―Melinda Gates
 
　　"In Hans Rosling’s hands, data sings. Global trends in health and economics come to vivid life. And the big picture of global development―with some surprisingly good news―snaps into sharp focus." ―TED
 
　　"Three minutes with Hans Rosling will change your mind about the world." ―Nature
 

作者簡介

　　Hans Rosling was a medical doctor, professor of international health and renowned public educator. He was an adviser to the World Health Organization and UNICEF, and co-founded Médecins sans Frontières in Sweden and the Gapminder Foundation. His TED talks have been viewed more than 35 million times, and he was listed as one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world. Hans died in 2017, having devoted the last years of his life to writing Factfulness.
 
　　Ola Rosling and Anna Rosling Rönnlund, Hans’s son and daughter-in-law, were co-founders of the Gapminder Foundation, and Ola its director from 2005 to 2007 and from 2010 to the present day. After Google acquired the bubble-chart tool called Trendalyzer, invented and designed by Anna and Ola, Ola became head of Google’s Public Data Team and Anna the team’s senior user experience (UX) designer. They have both received international awards for their work.