Unit 6: Assignment: It's About You
It's All About You
Hans Rosling is famous for creating the Gap Minder software that makes data come alive (that software is part of Google Docs so you can add Motion Charts to your spreadsheets if you enter the data). It allows for people to watch motion charts so that they can make assumptions about what the data means and why things happen the way they do. "No More Boring Data". It allows us to make connections to historical events, spreading disease, economic ups & downs or even natural disasters. Here's a chart where you can compare how Minnesota is doing in relation to the rest of the world.
Watch the following Hans Rosling talk from a CNN Fareed Zakaria Special in March 2011.
Now, after having seen that and maybe checking out a few more of his presentations, what do you think that means for the United States? Hans mentions being a "Possiblist". Explain what you think he meant by that and how the United States can keep up with the rest of the world that seems to be moving ahead so quickly. Before you decide that it just means that other countries are catching up, consider for a moment that they may actually be passing the United States.