読書録＃２：Factfulness

こんにちは、きゃはりんです。米国大３年生です。

I have just read the book "Factfulness" by Hans Rosling (2017). 

Although written in an engaging manner and easy to read, this book told me so many important lessons. 

Such a small world! 

As an international student from Japan studying in the US, I am often asked by my friends (both Japanese and Americans), "Was it difficult for you to get used to the life in the US?"

Of course, the culture and language between Japan and US were so different in many ways that I struggled finishing reports on time, learning to appropriately communicate with people, and getting used to the food. 

But overall, my answer to the question would be "Not very difficult", because of the huge similarities of so many things; I was able to use iPhone, make bank accounts, do the laundry, book flight and bus tickets, and submit repots online in the same way as I did in Japan.

Reading this book, I finally understood why it was; Japan and US are both in Level 4. 

Instead of the traditional way to classify the world into two by saying "developing countries" and "developed countries", the author suggests that we divide the countries into four levels based on income. Level 1 has daily income below $2, Level 2 has $2 to $8, Level 3 has $8 to $32, and Level 4 has $32 and more. 

The author proves how lives in the same Level in different parts of the world are extremely similar, and how lives in the same country with different Level are astonishingly different. 

Of course, the vast majority of people in Japan and US are in Level 4 and I was not an exception. This is why I was able to live just like I did in Japan, despite the minor cultural differences I needed to adapt to. 

The author states that there are 1 billion people in Level 4 and another 1 billion people in Level 1. 

Knowing this, I needed to stop. I have met so many people so far, and they area all from Level 4. And I can easily imagine that I can only see people from Level 4 until I die and that will not cause any problem to me. 

But there are equal number of people who are in Level 1. And the rest of the 6 billion people are somewhere in the middle.

I was forced to realize that I have lived in such a small world. I could not help but wonder, how much of my understanding of "the world" comes from a very small samples of news, articles, and rumors. 

When I go to India this summer

The other thing that the book "Factfulness" taught me is the danger of generalization. For instance, talking about "Africa's healthcare problem" is pointless because there is a stark difference between rich countries and poor countries within Africa. 

Yet, people do this generalization because they do not know much about Africa -- low resolution to something that they are unfamiliar with.

I will be doing an internship at eye care hospital in the southern Indian city called Madurai for ten weeks this summer. 

Here, I should not generalize what I see in Madurai as "India's situation" nor should I assume that what works in the US or Japan is also effective in Madurai.

Overcoming urgency instinct

Although this book is intended to present the fact-based worldview and encourage people to do the same practice, I gained an important life lesson as an individual from time to time. 

One of them was when the author introduced urgency instinct. We are most susceptible to urgency instinct when we feel the problem needs to be addressed right now and forced to make the decision right now.

The danger of urgency instinct is that it prevent us from thinking logically, and sometimes, make us think in an black-and-white manner; do this now or never do this.

The author argues that data-driven, logical decisions are often far more effective in addressing global issues than immediate action dominated by urgency instinct.

And I believe the same is true for the life of an individual. 

I am personally often encounter the fear of missing out. But the truth from my past experience is that there's always a way around even if I miss that. In addition, it always turns out that I should do more data collection (self-analysis, talking to more people, etc.) rather than jumping to the conclusion without thinking a lot. 

This is why I strongly believe that I should not make myself too busy to make logical decisions. I should not make myself too busy to interact with people and get stimulus on a day to day basis.