Eco Currency

Hans Rosling talks at TED about the difference about the way we think of the world  and how it really is. He says that the traditional we (Western countries) and them (Third world countries) attitude is not a correct model of reality anymore.

His dataset shows that this boundary no longer exists and that the economic wealth and health are getting more uniformly  distributed. Our traditional view of poor African countries for example doesn’t apply, because although on average they might be poorer, there are very rich and very poor people living there. When creating solutions it is vital to be aware of and take into account of these findings.

The discrepancy between our view and the reality is based on preconceptions that are not true anymore. Rosling proposes to open up the databases so this information can be accessible by all.  Another trend he shows is that more and more people are getting access to internet. Thoughts of a dataweb come into mind.

An example from a chart that can be created at gapminder.

Interesting for the eco currency project are two main insights. The first one is that averaging countries is dangerous, because they will not per definition have a group of the same people who need the same approach. Also the notion that the world can no longer be divided into ‘rich’ and ‘poor’ so easily.

The second insight is that more and more people are getting internet and be on the grid. The databases which are so important to form a well funded opinion should be available to all. Having correct, unbiased data can help us prevent corruption.

Play around with the statistics yourself at gapminder and let you know what you can find out in the comments!