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This is a fascinating book about how we think about the world, and many of the ways in which we think incorrectly. To start off, the reader is encouraged to take the . It consists of thirteen multiple-choice questions. Most people do worse than pure chance, i.e., a chimpanzee could achieve a better score! It goes to show how our thinking about the world is stereotypical, and not in accordance with the world as it really is.

This book has much in common with a couple of books by Stephen Pinker; The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined and also Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress. Hans Rosling argues that the world is a much better place, in many ways, than it was just a few decades ago. Not better in all respects, but in many important aspects. The problem is that most people do not realize just how much better it has become--we still have stereotypical views of most of the world's population, and the trends that are happening now.

The author offers advice on how to think more clearly, for example, "avoid lonely numbers." That is to say, do not place much emphasis on single numbers, because without some context, they do not say much without at least one other number for comparison. Rosling gives many concrete examples of things to keep in mind, when trying to make sense of trends, statistics, and numbers. The book is filled with anecdotes that show how generalizations can lead to faulty thinking--I just love the story about a student rushing to an elevator, stretching out her leg to keep the doors from closing. That is a perfectly OK thing to do in Sweden--but not necessarily in India.

And, the author relates some anecdotes where he, himself was thinking incorrectly. He is humble enough to show that he sometimes makes these very mistakes, as illustrations of faulty thinking.

While the book is fun to read, and very engaging, it does have some problems. It seems to be a bit repetitive at times, and maybe even a bit preachy. Nevertheless, it is worth reading, and probably everyone can learn a great deal from this book.