deep for some good news in the local media !.
But , Rosling says , before we blame journalists too much , let us remember that it is not their job to deliver a factbased view . It is their job to sell newspapers . They must compete for our attention or lose their jobs . It is not them . It is us .
It is unrealistic to expect the media to provide us with a better and unbiased reflection of reality . Reflecting reality is not the media ’ s job . It is up to us to figure it out .
The COVID-19 pandemic underlined how important it is to have the facts and to act on those facts . Unfortunately there is still much that we do not know about the pandemic yet , which is vital in terms of policies and decision-making . With so many scientists working on a better understanding of the virus , we will hopefully increase our knowledge and understanding in time .
On the positive side , perhaps the pandemic has prompted us to be more factful in life , in general .
Here are a few tips from Factfulness :
• A statistic on its own is often meaningless . Always consider it in relation to exposure . In other words , divide by something – actuaries call it “ exposed to risk ”.
• Remember that good news is usually not news and does not get reported . So , news is almost always bad ; the more bad news is often only due to better surveillance of suffering , and not due to a worsening world .
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• Humans find it difficult to project and think in a geometric way . We tend to overestimate the short-term impact and under-estimate the long-term impact . And we usually project linearly into the distant future . Don ’ t assume straight lines . Trends usually curve up or down .
Here are two examples of positive developments in the world :
1 . Two centuries ago , 85 % of the world lived in extreme poverty . Children had to work to eat , with the average child starting to work at age ten . Until 1966 , the majority of the world still lived in extreme poverty . Today ? Only 9 % and this percentage keeps decreasing . Most humans on the planet have escaped hell .
2 . Two centuries ago when many still starved to death and British children worked in coal mines , life expectancy was roughly thirty years globally . Today ? Seventy-two , and rising . Over these two centuries , the percentage of children dying before their fifth birthday has reduced from 44 % to 4 %.
In many respects the world is becoming a better place , but slowly . Factfulness prompts the reader to avoid the drama and to be more factful . One understands why Bill Gates recommends it .
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