30 April 2009

Pinto’s Point

Debunking third-world myths

By Jim Pinto

TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) started as a conference in Monterey, California, bringing together the world's brightest minds, the thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives – in just 18 minutes. Two years ago, these talks became available with dazzling video-player technology on the TED website.

I have a particular favorite, which I’d like to recommend that you watch. It will shift your perspectives in many different ways. In the western world, we are used to thinking that the rest of the world lags far behind. But our ideas are outdated. In fact, most of the third world is on the same trajectory as we are, toward improved health and prosperity. Indeed, many countries are moving twice as fast as we are.

Hans Rosling is a professor of global health at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute, and his current work focuses on dispelling common myths about the developing world. What makes Hans Rosling different is the stunning way he presents his information. The dynamics are amazing; you can run time forward and backward, to see how any relationship you care about has evolved, or is evolving. It only takes a few minutes to figure out and then you’re hooked.

Gapminder software graphs major developments in world history through a customizable interactive map. You can observe global trends along such lines as average income, carbon dioxide emissions, life expectancy, and many others. The graph has an animated function that allows you to watch how countries changed along these dimensions over time.

You've never seen huge amounts of data presented like this. The trends come to life and the big picture snaps into sharp focus. The animations transform the shifting numbers into moving bubbles and flowing curves that make global trends clear, intuitive, and even playful. Rosling narrates with a sportscaster's flair.

Rosling developed this breakthrough visualization software through his company Gapminder, which was bought by Google in March 2007. This is free software you can load with any data. Take a look. Maybe you can use it to help you present reams of meaningful, but shifting data, in ways that will make sense to your audience. 

Related links:

• Hans Rosling: Debunking third-world myths:
  http://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_shows_the_best_stats_you_ve_ever_seen.html
• Software: Gapminder:
  http://www.gapminder.org/
• Gapminder Is Cool:
  http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/16/gapminder-is-cool/

 Behind the byline

Jim Pinto is an industry analyst and founder of Action Instruments. You can e-mail him at jim@jimpinto.com or view his writings at www.JimPinto.com. Read the Table of Contents of his book, Pinto’s Points, at www.jimpinto.com/writings/points.html.