A not so easy test about the world

[ponyboy]

So what you're saying is most people know very little about things that do not affect them. Sounds fine to me.

[Zathras]

Thanks Harley!
Interesting quiz and article.

0 out of 8 showed me I am too much a pessimist

[tfudtuckerpucker]

I think the general information that Hans Rosling is sharing is really interesting, but the exact answers in the quiz are not that important. It's really interesting that the poverty rate in the world continues to decrease, and that the % of middle class is rising. Also that the world population growth rate is falling, and the birthrate in most 1st world countries is well below the replacement rate. If you haven't seen

this

and

this

presentation, it's worth watching.

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nemo2 Well, on that basis, I got them all right.

Not me! I was waaaaaaaay off on many of them. I think a weighed score would have made me look worse! I way underestimated vaccination rates, % of homes with electricity, education delta male/female, and a few others.

So what does this mean? On one hand, good news that the world is better off than many of us thought. But does that mean the media has been 'tricking' us with sensationalized stories focusing on only the bad things? Well, I'm no fan of the media, but it really does make sense to focus on the worst things, so they get attention and hopefully get better. The good things are already OK, so not much to say about them. So maybe it's appropriate?

We had a rare power outage here this AM (and an odd time, no storms or anything). It felt weird to be in that minority of homes w/o electricity, even if it was for only an hour!

-ERD50

[marko]

2/8

[Walt34]

I got 3 out of 8, and in this crowd I'm feeling pretty smug about that.

The ones I got right were the ones on life expectancy, women's education, and children's vaccinations. Admittedly I pretty much just guessed on all of them.

[NW-Bound]

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.

[Teacher Terry]

0. I am a loser)

[timo2]

2 out of 8

[38Chevy454]

2/8, so I guess I am about avg of the replies

[tfudtuckerpucker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound 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