2016 will be remembered for many things, Brexit, the election of Trump, a surfeit of celebrity deaths, but it was last week, 7th February 2017, that a true giant passed away, although you might have missed the news of his passing.
Hans Rosling was a statistician, an educator, a communicator. He used facts to explain and enlighten. Four years ago, I wrote a short blog embedding one of his videos, where he illustrated the change in family size and life expectancy over the last fifty years. He really was a remarkable man with the ability to communicate some difficult and challenging ideas with ease and clarity.
Please, take the time to watch the video above – it’ll only take ten minutes of your time and, even if you learn nothing (but you will) you will enjoy the show.
In these times of alternative facts, mis-speak and other Orwellian horrors, I hope that Hans’ legacy will be a willingness to use facts and statistics to inform and shape understanding.
Hans Rosling, 1948 – 2017. The world is a better place for your passage through it.
(A quick youTube search for Hans Rosling produces a wealth of results. If you’ve watched the video above and would like to see some more, below are a few links you may enjoy)
Where are the Syrian Refugees? Although made in 2015, so the numbers may have changed, this short video is quite sobering and shows that we, in Europe, have probably got it wrong.
200 Countries, 200 Years Hans examines how the wealth and health of 200 countries has changed since 1810
Channel 4 News Interview Interviewed on Channel 4 News. Worth a watch.