A not so easy test about the world

[tfudtuckerpucker]

I watched both videos shared by tfudtuckerpucker above. Very informative and upbeat presentations by Hans Rosling.

One thing that stands out: people all over the world are getting more prosperous, but the advance in longevity is not as fast as many would think.

We can live in nicer homes, drive fancier cars, watching bigger TVs, but our body still has that built-in clock that is ticking down. What we have done is to prevent the factors that can shorten our natural life, such as accidents and infectious diseases, but our body still has a time limit.

Indeed. Another trend that would be interesting for Dr Rosling to add would be obesity rates (specifically "morbid obesity" rates, because of health risks) in the US and worldwide, over time. My asian friends tell me India and China are following the US in the growing obesity problem. The morbid obesity rate in India is now 5%!

 

[NW-Bound]

I have not visited any of those Asian countries, but just from watching TV and youtube travel videos I have observed that people are not so skinny there anymore, though they are not as overweight as Westerners. And everybody drives or rides a scooter. Nobody rides a bike or walks anymore. Won't be long now before they eat a lot of mass-produced processed foods. No time to cook. Fresh ingredients too troublesome to transport, to stock in market, and to store at home.

Oh well. Dying of obesity is still a lot better than dying of hunger.

 

[devans0]

I got 6 out of 8. I missed the first and last questions, and both were about population growth. I overestimated sex.

I guess that makes me a nerd's nerd.

 

[NW-Bound]

No, I think sex is as popular as ever, if not even more so than in the past because of contraceptives. And it is the popularity of birth control that keeps population growth in check.

In the videos posted by tfudtuckerpucker, it is surprising to see many Asian countries now having a much shrunken family size. People no longer have 5 or 6 kids, and it's not just in China where they limit a couple to have only one child. When people can now save for their retirement, and also do not need more farmhands, they don't want the hassle of raising a child.

 

[redduck]

3 of 8 (pretty successful at-bats; poor free-throwing shooting; very poor PATs).

It seems I was too pessimistic about the world. I guess that means I can cut back on my charitable contributions.

 

[Marc]

6 out of 8 for me. I knew electricity; all you have to do is go out at dusk in poor countries and see all the tv sets in the shacks.

Marc

 

[gerntz]

Given the tight range for each answer & the high number of choices, I think any answer +/- 1 correct range is good knowledge of things. No one should feel stupid for being off. & yes, I only got 1/8 & don't see a problem with that.

 

[Skyward1]

You scored 5 out of 8. Here are the correct answers:

Interesting. Hard to get a perfect score with so many choices on a few of the questions.

Edit: Not sure why my typeface is bold. I cut and pasted the score?

 

[harley]

Sadly, Hans Rosling has passed away due to pancreatic cancer. Sad to announce: Hans Rosling passed away this morning. Gapminder is a brilliant tool for finding real solid facts about the world, and his passion for truth and education will be missed.

 

[ownyourfuture]

3 out of 8

 

[Totoro]

6 out of 8. I've seen his talks before, so there's that. Missed the fertility rate (I said 2, it is 2.5) and the measles vaccination (said 70%, it's 85%).

Very sad to see him passing away, amazing how he did his talks and the message he was trying to convey: all in all the world is getting better for most humans. Hope his son continues the push forward.

 

[kimcdougc]

1 out of 8. Seems like the world is way better off than I thought!

 

[razztazz]

1 out of 8 but in a good way. Given the nature of the article I picked the gloomy gus response most time. In fact the world has improved its lot A LOT in 50 yrs and is on that trajectory for good apparently. Be merry!

 

[NW-Bound]

Sadly, Hans Rosling has passed away due to pancreatic cancer. Sad to announce: Hans Rosling passed away this morning. Gapminder is a brilliant tool for finding real solid facts about the world, and his passion for truth and education will be missed.

The cure for cancer has not progressed as much as many people believe. Still a crapshoot game whether the cure will work on an individual or not.


And there are all kinds of other geriatric diseases that are between us and the goal of becoming a centenarian.

 

[ikubak]

Zero for me too. Maybe the news I watch and read is too pessimistic about the condition of the world.

 

[donheff]

Only got 2 of 8 but close on some others. I have seen Rosling's visualizations before so I knew I should be more optimistic than my gut would tell me about the stats but I still underestimated that changes in the last 25-30 years.

Edit: I was saddened to learn that Rosling died at age 68 a few days ago.

 

[imoldernu]

hmmm...
choices:
10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%
2, 2.5, 3,3.5,4,4.5,

I think the correct 1st choice was 87.78%

and the 2nd, was was 2.64%

oh well, aside from that, 3 for 8

 

[mickeyd]

1/8

 

[Koogie]

Five final thoughts from Hans Rosling.

Hans Rosling, population prophet: Five final thoughts - BBC News

He is quite bullish on the future economic prospects of Africa. That is a theory we have heard before though.

 

[Nemo2]

Five final thoughts from Hans Rosling.

Hans Rosling, population prophet: Five final thoughts - BBC News

He is quite bullish on the future economic prospects of Africa. That is a theory we have heard before though.

I think the last person who said it was Cecil Rhodes.

 

[Koogie]

I think the last person who said it was Cecil Rhodes.

True, and see what they think of poor old Cecil now..

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodes_Must_Fall

 

[street]

2/8 >>>> interesting questions most had a higher % then what I thought. Outstanding!