How I Learned to Understand the World: A Memoir

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/how-i-learned-to-understand-the-world-by-hans-ro...

This is the autobiography of Hans Rosling, the Swedish scientist whose Factfulness was my book of the year for 2018. I must admit that I had given no thought at all to how one might become a guru of data visualisation, so it was fascinating to read of his career in public health in Sweden and the developing world.

The moral core of the book are the third and fourth chapters, recounting his experience of working as a District Medical Officer in northern Mozambique, in a situation where to describe resources as scarce and medical facilities as overstretched is something of an understatement. I must say that the end of the third chapter made me cry on the show more train, which I don’t often do.

Apart from that, it’s a good account of a professional doctor shuttling around the world and accommodating himself to different cultures, and to the rapid changes in societies (including Sweden) brought about by economic growth and technical innovation. There is a very entertaining encounter with Fidel Castro in Cuba. And then thanks to his son’s software skills, he found that he was famous, and his medical career turned into something quite different. He doesn’t go on about his success of middle age; he knew we would be much more interested in how he got there.

I had high expectations of this and they were more than fulfilled. show less

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How I Learned to Understand the World by Hans Rosling is a memoir, translated from Swedish, which the author talks about events that helped him shape his thinking. Mr. Rosling is a world renowned physician and data analysts who helped change the world in small, and big ways. This memoir was published posthumously as Dr. Rosling sadly passed away from cancer in 2007.

Books which bring different perspectives are always, to me, a good idea to read. Sometimes they’re not as enlightening, or entertaining, as I might like them to be, however I try to make an effort. How I Learned to Understand the World by Hans Rosling is both enlightening and entertaining, bringing show more forth a new perspective in a relatable manner, backed by personal anecdotes and data which could easily be found online.

Dr. Hans Rosling talks a little about his upbringing in Sweden, how his education as a physician, as well as working in Mozambique, help him revolutionize his thinking, and ours as well. Together with his son and daughter in law, Dr. Rosling has created the Trendalyzer software system, which creates animated graphics of data over time, and the helped found the Gapminder Institute.

I have to say that thinking back on it, I enjoyed most of the book very much. I enjoyed the little, day-to-day anecdotes and challenges of a white, skinny, European doctor and his family living in a third world country. Dr. Rosling was a fact based, analysis geek who made decisions based on factual and available data, and not preconceived notions – something we sorely need more of in the world. I also enjoyed his anecdotes of meeting the rich and famous after he had made a name for himself, all told with a proverbial wink and a smile including an awkward meeting with Fidel Castro.

In the forward of the book Agneta Rosling, the author’s widow, writes that “some of the stories are left out, as we thought these would only be interesting in the Swedish context”. I certainly understand the editorial choice, but I would have liked to hear those stories, maybe with an added context to explain it to us non-Swedes. That’s too bad because I do enjoy Swedish literature. That might would have been doable in an eBook, but in an audio version, or even a print version, it wouldn’t have been practical.

The book is written along with journalist Fanny Härgestam, who recorded and formed Dr. Rosling’s thoughts and stories into a coherent narrative for readers. The audiobook is narrated by Simon Slater, an award-winning English narrator, actor, and composer. show less

Good read. Interesting to get more details to the anecdotes of factfullnes. Hasn is a true inspiration.