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EXCELLENCE WORLD

How the World Really Is

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LEVEL 1 · 0/3LEVEL 2 · 0/3LEVEL 3 · 0/3LEVEL 4 · 0/3LEVEL 5 · 0/3START
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The state of the world in real numbers: why the news feels worse, how we misjudge shares, child mortality, life expectancy, vaccines and hunger, poverty, electricity, literacy, population and fertility, and how to read charts and rates without being fooled.

2h 51m5 constellations
AT THE SUMMIT, YOU WILL BE ABLE TO

01Explain why the news skews negative and correct your estimates

02Know the long-run numbers on health, poverty, literacy and population

03Turn shares into people and counts into fair rates

04Spot misleading charts and fact-check claims with primary data

Every lesson of How the World Really Is

15 lessons in 5 levels, about 3 hours. Level 1 is free.

Level 1Seeing the World ClearlyFree · 3 lessons
  1. Why the news feels worse than the worldUnderstand why your picture of the world skews negative.11 min
  2. Why we misjudge proportionsCorrect the predictable bias in how we estimate shares.11 min
  3. Awful, much better, could be betterHold three true statements at once, and turn shares into people.12 min
Level 2HealthMembership · 3 lessons
  1. Child mortality: the biggest changeKnow how many children died then, and now.11 min
  2. Life expectancy: 28 to 73Read life expectancy correctly, and see how far it has moved.11 min
  3. Vaccines and hunger: progress that can reverseSee big gains, and how quickly they can slip.12 min
Level 3Poverty and ProsperityMembership · 3 lessons
  1. Extreme poverty: from 43% to 10%Know the scale of extreme poverty, then and now.12 min
  2. Electricity for almost everyoneSee how far access to power has spread, and who's still waiting.11 min
  3. A world that can readSee the long rise of literacy, and what it made possible.11 min
Level 4PopulationMembership · 3 lessons
  1. From one billion to eightUnderstand how and when the world's population grew.11 min
  2. Fewer children per familySee how fast family size has changed worldwide.11 min
  3. Peak humanityUnderstand the UN's projection, and what “projection” means.11 min
Level 5Thinking With DataMembership · 3 lessons
  1. Charts that misleadSpot the design choices that exaggerate or hide a change.12 min
  2. Per person, per year, compared with what?Turn raw counts into fair comparisons.12 min
  3. Your fact-check habitBuild a routine for checking any claim about the world.12 min
FREE

Level 1 is open.

Membership opens every other level of this path.

See membership
AFTER THE CORE

Keep going where this path leads.

Think Like a ScientistEvidence and uncertainty · 2h 59m
Math for Real LifeThe numbers behind the news · 3h 26m