Debunking third-world myths with the best stats you've ever seen

Video website recently bought to my attention: TED (Ideas worth Spreading) has a myriad of provoking online videos, one of these is Debunking third-world myths. See the website to see many other fascinating videos from culture, to entertainment and to global issues.

The video highlight is Hans Rosling's -- With the drama and urgency of a sportscaster, he debunks myths about the so-called "developing world" using extraordinary animation software developed by his Gapminder Foundation. The Trendalyzer software (recently acquired by Google) turns complex global trends into lively animations, making decades of data pop. Asian countries, as colorful bubbles, float across the grid -- toward better national health and wealth. Animated bell curves representing national income distribution squish and flatten. In Rosling's hands, global trends -- life expectancy, child mortality, poverty rates -- become clear, intuitive and even playful."

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