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Seven Maps to Better Understand the World

2018-05-15 · list · John · 4:00 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Global development (also: History & curiosities, Science & nature) · mode: Explainer

Arguing that data reveals larger truths that anecdotes hide, John walks through seven maps (world population in tenths, years of schooling, CO2 emissions, temperature change, the age of national borders, attended births and maternal deaths, life expectancy) that show a bigger world and real progress, giving him hope and, when appropriate, fear.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Data is not the plural of anecdote: daily crimes versus the falling US homicide rate; seven maps

  • ★★ John cites Dr. Aaron Carroll of Healthcare Triage: data is not the plural of anecdote; amid so many factual anecdotes it can be hard to see the larger truths data tell. — 00:00:00

    “data is not the plural of anecdote”

  • ★★★ John says terrible crimes happen every day in the US, but the US homicide rate is lower than it was 10, 20, 30, 40 or 50 years ago. — 00:00:13 · United States

00:00:29 — Map 1: the world population in tenths; bonus maps of Peru and Somalia

  • ★★★ A map dividing humanity into tenths shows that Canada, the US, Mexico, most of the Caribbean, Chile, Peru and more make up only one tenth of the world's population. — 00:00:29 · Canada, United States
  • ★★ John says the world is so much bigger than his world, and the human story bigger than the human stories he usually hears. — 00:00:40
  • ★ John adds that Peru is big, as is Somalia: bonus maps, not among the seven. (playful) — 00:00:49

00:00:58 — Map 2: average years of schooling, 1950 to 2010

  • ★★★ Our World in Data maps of average years of schooling over six decades show that, despite huge gaps between rich and poor, kids all around the world are getting more educational opportunities. — 00:00:58 · education
  • ★★ John says that is good because it means more potential innovators to solve all the problems we are leaving those kids with. (playful) — 00:01:21

00:01:30 — Maps 3 and 4: CO2 emissions since 1950 and temperature change 1965-2014

  • ★★★ Maps of global CO2 emissions show almost all emissions in 1950 came from the wealthiest countries; by 2016 a few countries are starting to get lighter, but only a few. — 00:01:30
  • ★★★ A map of average temperature change between 1965 and 2014 shows red where Earth got warmer, white where unchanged and blue where colder, and there is no blue. — 00:01:45 · climate change

00:01:58 — Map 5: when national borders were created

  • ★★★ A map of when borders were created shows how recent many are: we think of nation-states as intractable and borders as fixed, but most national borders are less than 120 years old. — 00:02:04

00:02:18 — Maps 6 and 7: attended births and maternal deaths, life expectancy; hope and fear

  • ★★★ Births attended by trained health workers rose from 1991 to 2015: Brazil from under 70% to over 95%, India from 34% to over 80%, Mali from 26% to 60%. — 00:02:18
  • ★★★ John calls the benefits staggering: 522,000 mothers died in childbirth in 1991 and 303,000 in 2015; there is a long way to go, but that is real progress. — 00:02:41 · maternal death, progress
  • ★ Calling it, tongue in cheek, a controversial position, John says he believes human lives should be long and healthy. (playful) — 00:02:58
  • ★★★ Comparing 1980 with 35 years later, low- and middle-income countries from China to India to Peru to Angola saw life expectancy rise by at least 10 years, in some cases 20. — 00:03:02 · China
  • ★★★ John thanks mapmakers for giving him hope and also, when appropriate, fear. — 00:03:14 · hope

00:03:20 — John invites clubs and organizations to email him for modest sponsorship; sign-off

  • ★★ Enjoying sponsoring AFC Wimbledon, John asks clubs, teams or organizations wanting modest sponsorship (high three to low four digits) to email sparksflyup@gmail.com with subject 'Sponsorship'. — 00:03:22 · AFC Wimbledon
  • ★★ John says sponsorship means getting marketing value in exchange, like our logo on your uniform, not a donation, and admits he says so to make sure he is cool with the IRS. (playful) — 00:03:38
  • ★★ John apologizes in advance for the awesome things he won't be able to sponsor, but will try to sponsor at least a few. (hedged) — 00:03:53

In the description and comments

  • ★★ The description calls Our World in Data an amazing resource and lists the sources of the maps. — video description
  • ★★ John says he is not one of those who think we are on the verge of conquering death, but we are delaying it significantly, though much work remains, especially among impoverished communities. — video description
  • ★★★ John says life expectancy has risen by over ten years in most nations in the last 35 years, a consistent worldwide increase never seen before and worth celebrating. — video description

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: anecdotal evidence · life expectancy

Also: People: Aaron Carroll

Projects: Healthcare Triage · Sparks Fly Up

Organizations: AFC Wimbledon · Internal Revenue Service · Our World in Data

Concepts: carbon dioxide · climate change · education · homicide · hope · maternal death · nation state · progress

Places: Angola · Brazil · Canada · Caribbean · Chile · China · India · Mali · Mexico · Peru · Somalia · United States

fact: world population

Also centred on life expectancy: Your Neighborhood, Your Life Expectancy · When Will You Die? · Most People Have Never Been 20 · The Life Expectancy Lies That Won't Die

Later videos replying to this one