I always enjoy talks given by Hans Rosling, and the one I’ve linked to below is no exception. He uses data, and data that makes you think.
“The first thing to know about the future is to know about the present.” This is a statement Rosling makes in the earliest stages of the video, and I think everyone (me included) need to keep in mind as we go forward talking about the world and stoking our senses of outrage about whatever the issue of the day is. After making this statement, he then goes on to use three questions to show the audience exactly how their pre-assumed biases appear to affect “group opinion.”
It is against this backdrop that he “proves” that chimpanzees on the whole actually know more about the world than us humans do.
Fascinating, eh?
So, how about you? Do you think for yourself? Do you listen to the media? Which media? Do you have a cultural bias? A regional bias?
Can you beat the chimps?
Here’s the video: