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| Hans Rosling: How much do you know about the world? | Hans Rosling: How much do you know about the world? |
| (about 9 hours later) | |
| The world may have many problems, from climate change to armed conflict, natural disasters, poverty and the oppression of women and minorities - but where does population growth fit into this catalogue of woes? | The world may have many problems, from climate change to armed conflict, natural disasters, poverty and the oppression of women and minorities - but where does population growth fit into this catalogue of woes? |
| With the population of the world at seven billion and rising, many fear a shortage of resources as well as a shortage of space. Swedish professor Hans Rosling, however, says it's time for a reality check. | With the population of the world at seven billion and rising, many fear a shortage of resources as well as a shortage of space. Swedish professor Hans Rosling, however, says it's time for a reality check. |
| When pollsters got 1,000 British people to take Rosling's "ignorance survey" in May this year, the results suggested they knew "less about the world than chimpanzees", he says. | When pollsters got 1,000 British people to take Rosling's "ignorance survey" in May this year, the results suggested they knew "less about the world than chimpanzees", he says. |
| Take a version of the test in this quiz, compare your results with the British respondents', then read Hans Rosling's five reasons the world is in better shape than we think. | |
| "If for each question I wrote each of the possible alternatives on bananas, and asked chimpanzees in the zoo to pick the right answers, and by picking the right bananas, they'd just pick bananas at random. But the Brits did even worse," says Rosling. | "If for each question I wrote each of the possible alternatives on bananas, and asked chimpanzees in the zoo to pick the right answers, and by picking the right bananas, they'd just pick bananas at random. But the Brits did even worse," says Rosling. |
| To be fair, so did the Swedes, the only other nation to have been polled so far. In a speech to TED downloaded almost six million times, he points out that he also put the questions to some fellow professors, and they were on a par with chimpanzees, too. | To be fair, so did the Swedes, the only other nation to have been polled so far. In a speech to TED downloaded almost six million times, he points out that he also put the questions to some fellow professors, and they were on a par with chimpanzees, too. |
| The fact that humans do worse than chimps shows the problem is not a lack of knowledge, but the result of having preconceived ideas, Rosling says - ideas that are years, or sometimes decades out of date. | The fact that humans do worse than chimps shows the problem is not a lack of knowledge, but the result of having preconceived ideas, Rosling says - ideas that are years, or sometimes decades out of date. |
| "What is particularly striking is that those with a university education did not do better - if anything worse - than everyone else," he says. | "What is particularly striking is that those with a university education did not do better - if anything worse - than everyone else," he says. |
| Rosling infers from this that most people are ignorant about the profound ways the world is changing, "often for the better". | |
| Some "ignorance survey" questions - and the British answers: | Some "ignorance survey" questions - and the British answers: |
| Question: In the year 2000 the total number of children (age 0-14) in the world reached two billion. How many do UN experts estimate there will be by the year 2100? | Question: In the year 2000 the total number of children (age 0-14) in the world reached two billion. How many do UN experts estimate there will be by the year 2100? |
| Question: What percentage of adults in the world today are literate - ie can read and write? | Question: What percentage of adults in the world today are literate - ie can read and write? |
| Question: What is the life expectancy in the world as a whole today? | Question: What is the life expectancy in the world as a whole today? |
| Question: In the last 30 years the proportion of the world population living in extreme poverty has… | Question: In the last 30 years the proportion of the world population living in extreme poverty has… |
| Question: What percentage of total world energy generated comes from solar and wind power? Is it approximately... | Question: What percentage of total world energy generated comes from solar and wind power? Is it approximately... |
| Don't Panic - The Truth About Population will be broadcast on BBC Two on Thursday 7 November at 21:00 GMT (23:20 GMT in Scotland) | Don't Panic - The Truth About Population will be broadcast on BBC Two on Thursday 7 November at 21:00 GMT (23:20 GMT in Scotland) |
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