As a doctor and researcher, Hans Rosling identified a new paralytic disease induced by hunger in rural Africa. Now the global health professor is looking at the bigger picture, increasing our understanding of social and economic development with the remarkable trend-revealing software he created.
Why you should listen to him:
Even the most worldly and well-traveled among us will have their perspectives shifted by Hans Rosling. A professor of global health at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute, his current work focuses on dispelling common myths about the so-called developing world, which (he points out) is no longer worlds away from the west. In fact, most of the third world is on the same trajectory toward health and prosperity, and many countries are moving twice as fast as the west did.
What sets Rosling apart isn’t just his apt observations of broad social and economic trends, but the stunning way he presents them. Guaranteed: You’ve never seen data presented like this. By any logic, a presentation that tracks global health and poverty trends should be, in a word: boring. But in Rosling’s hands, data sings. Trends come to life. And the big picture — usually hazy at best — snaps into sharp focus.
Rosling’s presentations are grounded in solid statistics (often drawn from United Nations data), illustrated by the visualization software he developed. The animations transform development statistics into moving bubbles and flowing curves that make global trends clear, intuitive and even playful. During his legendary presentations, Rosling takes this one step farther, narrating the animations with a sportscaster’s flair.
Rosling developed the breakthrough software behind his visualizations through his nonprofit Gapminder, founded with his son and daughter-in-law. The free software — which can be loaded with any data — was purchased by Google in March 2007. (Rosling met the Google founders at TED.)
Rosling began his wide-ranging career as a physician, spending many years in rural Africa tracking a rare paralytic disease (which he named konzo) and discovering its cause: hunger and badly processed cassava. He co-founded Médecins sans Frontièrs (Doctors without Borders) Sweden, wrote a textbook on global health, and as a professor at the Karolinska Institut in Stockholm initiated key international research collaborations. He’s also personally argued with many heads of state, including Fidel Castro.
As if all this weren’t enough, the irrepressible Rosling is also an accomplished sword-swallower — a skill he demonstrated at TED2007.
"Rosling believes that making information more accessible has the potential to change the quality of the information itself."Business Week Online
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TED2007 Day One: things that knocked my hat in the creek – March 8, 2007
I had my mind blown in a thousand different directions by TED2007 today. My big impression was having felt the future, in myriad ways. From hallway conversations to the content of speaker presentations to the feeling of just being a part of it all, it was a fabulous first day.
My assignment, as handed down by the head office of TED, is to tell you about the thing which blew my mind the most. However, I'm going to take the easy route and talk about everything buzzing in my mind right now. All the speakers were wonderful, but here are my personal highlights. So bear with me; here we go:
- Philippe Starck: Proof positive that tangents are but the arcs of greater circles, Philippe gave us a very big picture look at life, beauty, meaning, the universe, and brushes for one's toilet and mouth. No photos, no precious design shots, just him and the space around him dancing around the stage in a virtuostic lesson in what it means to be a charismatic speaker. Strictly nonlinear in presentation -- and likely uncomfortable to some -- his time on stage tickled me pink, and was formidable! Watch for the TEDTalks on this one. You need to see it to understand it all.
- Hans Rosling: How does one go about topping your previous world-changing effort? Hans Rosling did it. With equal parts killer interface design + serious storytelling + oodles of data + approximately a third of a meter of reliable Swedish steel, Hans Rosling pulled it all off.
- Murray Gell-Mann: Was the field of particle physics ever presented in a more human, accessible way? Elegance personified. I loved every minute of this. It was like being in the room with a triumvirate of geniuses: Newton, Einstein, Gell-Mann. Wow.
- Jeff Han: Okay, I want one. Please. I want one.
- Steve Miller: As part of TEDUniversity, told stories about Tiger Woods to reveal some elegant points about how to set standards of excellence and then rise to meet them.
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: A moving essay on jazz, leadership, responsibility, and the need to look deep within to find excellence. Inspiring.
- Raul Midon: A degree of artistic achievement which made we weep, so powerful was his music. The high point of Day One. And recipient of my TED Quote of the Day Award: "Feel the fear, but do it anyway".
Onward! Tomorrow bodes to be another amazing day.
photo credit: Jurvetson
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Counting down the Top 10 TEDTalks – June 26, 2008
With 50 million views since we debuted online two years ago, TED talks have become a powerful cultural force.
To celebrate this milestone, we're releasing a never-before-seen list: the Top 10 TED talks of all time, as of June 2008.
With speakers like neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor and global health expert Hans Rosling, the list proves one of the compelling ideas behind TEDTalks: that an unknown speaker with a powerful idea can reach -- and move -- a global audience. Links to all 10 talks are found below -- or browse through our Top 10 TED Talks Theme. Even if you've seen all the talks, the highlights video is darn fun.
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Hi-def video (480p)Top 10 TED Talks of all time
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1. Jill Bolte Taylor: My stroke of insight
2. Jeff Han: Touchscreen demo foreshadows the iPhone
3. David Gallo: Underwater astonishments
4. Blaise Aguera y Arcas: Jaw-dropping Photosynth demo
5. Arthur Benjamin: Lightning calculation and other "Mathemagic"
6. Sir Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity?
7. Hans Rosling: The best stats you've ever seen
8. Tony Robbins: Why we do what we do, and how we can do it better
9. Al Gore: 15 ways to avert a climate crisis
10. Johnny Lee: Creating tech marvels out of a $40 Wii Remote -
Google and TED sword-swallowing demographer team up to think outside the X and Y axes – March 21, 2007
Google has acquired Hans Rosling's Trendalyzer software, which the Swedish demographer and his team at Gapminder have developed since 2005 to generate more useful visualizations of facts and figures. Rosling has met the Google founders at TED2006, where he gave a thought-provoking speech on the nature of statistics and the general misinterpretation of them (see short summary and video of that speech). At TED2007 ten days ago he gave another insightful speech, ending it with the now-famous sword-swallowing moment (yes, Rosling is a serious demographer but also -- another deadly serious activity -- one of the few sword-swallowers active in Sweden). Photo Robert Leslie/TED:
Marissa Mayer of Google comments the acquisition on their blog: "Gathering data and creating useful statistics is an arduous job that often goes unrecognized. We hope to provide the resources necessary to bring such work to its deserved wider audience by improving and expanding Trendalyzer and making it freely available to any and all users capable of thinking outside the X and Y axes." The Trendalyzer team will join Google in Mountain View to work on developing the tools; the non-profit Gapminder Foundation -- whose goal is to "to promote a fact-based worldview by bringing statistical story-telling to new levels" -- will instead continue operating out of Stockholm.
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(Via IHT Metamedia)
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TEDGlobal 2007 Session 7: Tales of Invention – June 6, 2007
Day Three of TEDGlobal began with a series of pointed questions ... "Where are the women inventors?" Bola Olabisi asked, as she walked around an international inventors fair, where she'd come on a slow afternoon in London, while pregnant with her fourth child and in need of distraction. She walked the hall all day, and failed to find a single woman inventor. Distressed, she approached the organizer to ask why no women were represented. "If you can find them, let me know," he said. And this sent Olabisi on what became her new life's mission, to encourage innovation and invention among women, and African women in particular. "There was a lack of acknowledgement, recognition or even awareness of any African inventor or innovator." So along with founding the Global Women Inventors & Innovators Network she developed a Pan-African network for women inventors as well. And while there were many doubters ("Women inventors in AFRICA? have you thought about this carefully?"), every seat in her first symposium was full, often with designers of low-tech inventions -- floor tiles, wigs, household appliances, children's toys -- who may not have otherwise considered themselves "inventors." The question, "Where are the African inventors?" echoed through the next talk as well, as Moses Makayoto called on young African scientists and engineers to stand up and be counted. An inventor and chemist himself, Makayoto invented the popular Mama Safi detergent, produced cheaply using local resources, and is now doing R&D into naturally developed malaria treatments and bio-pesticides, which can, for example, prevent malaria by attacking mosquitoes at the larval stage, and which can be created from raw materials found anywhere. From Dr. Seyi Oyesola, a different question: Where are the well-trained African doctors? Answer: Overseas. Where they're better paid, better treated and enjoy modern hospital settings. In contrast, most hospitals on the continent lack vital equipment, and woefully fail to uphold sanitary standards. So "where do generally healthy Africans go if they need to be treated for things besides malaria, TB or HIV?" Oyeseola asks. Distressed by the conditions in a Nigeria hospital where he came to perform a dozen open-heart surgeries (equipment was held together by duct tape; floors were dirty; X-rays were taped to windows for lack of a light table), Oyesola resolved to find a portable solution for bringing modern medicine with him. He co-developed the "Hospital in a Box" -- a pop-up, portable, plug-and-play system for off-grid medicine. Its environment-tolerant anesthesia makes surgery possible even in deeply inhospitable regions (or deeply ill-equipped regional hospitals). His portable invention aside, the charismatic Oyesola stressed the importance of developing a strong non-emergency health care system throughout Africa. Emphasizing its economic significance, he quoted TEDster Hans Rosling: "You get wealthy faster if you're healthy first." (Watch Rosling's TEDTalk on TED.com) The session's final question was asked by the entire audience, silently, to ourselves: "How on EARTH did he do that?" Chris and Emeka asked one of the TED Fellows -- 17-year-old William Kamkwamba from Malawi -- to the stage. A natural inventor, he built a fully-functional electricity-producing windmill from spare parts, working only from a photo in a magazine. After reading about Kamkwamba in a local African newspaper, TEDGlobal Conference Director Emeka Okafor spent several weeks tracking him down and invited him to join us here in Arusha, as part of our sponsored Fellowship program (There are 100 Fellows here). From the stage, William explained to TED Curator Chris Anderson that the windmill now powers 4 lights and two radios in his parents home. His dream? To build a larger version to help with irrigation, and go back to school. I have a feeling the next question for is: "How can we help?" For more extensive descriptions of each talk, see Ethan Zuckerman's real-time posts on Bola Olabisi, Moses Makayoto and Dr. Seyi Oyesola. Watch for these talks on TED.com beginning midsummer 2007.
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Data at play: Some cool visualization tools – October 5, 2007
On Guardian Unlimited, Charles Arthur offers a neat roundup of new ways to see all kinds of data with fresh eyes. On the list: Jonathan Harris' "We Feel Fine" project (watch his TEDTalk) and, of course, Hans Rosling's Gapminder tools (watch his TEDTalks from 2006 and 2007). The story is part of Guardian Unlimited's Free Our Data campaign, an effort to press the UK government to release mapping and demographic data about the UK and its citizens, collected by government entities -- who currently charge for access to it. More
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Web-based ways to make a difference – January 1, 2008
To help those of us making resolutions this week, here is a sampling of web tools for making a difference, inspired by TEDTalks speakers: + Share Ron Eglash's cool math tools, for studying math via breakdancing, Latin beats and cornrow braids + Dive into Richard Baraniuk's Connexions, a massive repository of open-source class materials + Visit Phil Borges' Bridges to Understanding site, which rounds up student films from all over the world + Browse Erin McKean's booklist "So You Want to Be a Lexicographer?" + Check out the beta of Gapminder World, powered by Hans Rosling's Trendalyzer software + Watch video and take action at The Hub, a platform for human rights media and action -- presented by Peter Gabriel's WITNESS + Discuss sustainable design and materials on the Cradle to Cradle forums, inspired by the work of William McDonough + Learn more about Nicholas Negroponte's One Laptop per Child + Catch up with Majora Carter's Sustainable South Bronx -- or make a specific gift to SSBx via Changing the Present + Calculate your personal CO2 production -- and start helping the planet -- at the website for Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, produced by Jeff Skoll TEDTalks is full of ideas for making change for oneself and for others -- many more than we can list here. Please share your suggestions for other TEDTalks-inspired change! More
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TEDTalks turn 2! – June 27, 2008
Two years ago today, TED.com posted its first six TEDTalks. It was a radical notion to share these powerful talks and ideas with the world -- but it looks like it was the right notion. This week, TEDTalks notched its 50 millionth view, and we moved to a daily publishing schedule to keep up with the demand for more great talks, performances and conversations.
Celebrate with us by suggesting your favorite TEDTalks over the past two years. Count down the Top 10 TEDTalks in a special Theme page, where you can discuss the talks and suggest your own hidden gems from the archive.
Watch the first six TEDTalks, posted two years ago today:
Al Gore on 15 ways to avert a climate crisis
David Pogue says "Simplicity sells"
Majora Carter's tale of greening the ghetto
Ken Robinson asks, Do schools kill creativity?
Tony Robbins talks about why we do what we do
Hans Rosling shows the best stats you've ever seen
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Embrace the zen of presentation – February 16, 2008
More presentation news: Garr Reynolds pulls examples from his favorite TEDTalks (Majora Carter, Hans Rosling, Sir Ken Robinson) for his new book, Presentation Zen-- to help his readers refine, simplify and focus their own presentations and talks.
What makes a great TED speaker? Passion, connection, a story to tell. As Reynolds points out, "If your idea is worth spreading, presentation matters."
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Introducing TEDTalks – June 27, 2006
Today, for the first time ever, we're thrilled to present some of the most remarkable talks from TEDs past. We launch with six from this year's conference — Al Gore, Tony Robbins, David Pogue, Majora Carter, Hans Rosling and Ken Robinson — with more coming weekly. All the talks are downloadable as audio or video, searchable and free.
It's a big moment for us: Until now, the TED experience has been limited to 1,000 people each year. But we believe passionately that these talks deserve a much wider audience. Now — thanks to the maturation of online video and podcasting, and a visionary sponsorship from BMW — we can share them for the first time.
TEDTalks are designed to fit into your life: You can subscribe, to easily receive updates each week. There's an audio series (produced with WNYC/New York Public Radio) that commutes well, as well as the video series, offered on this blog and TED.com, and downloadable through iTunes. Plus, the talks are fully searchable, so you can always find exactly what you're looking for.
Our intention here isn't to draw attendees (TED2007 already has a long waiting list), but simply to share these profound talks — which have had such great impact on us — with the widest possible audience. They're ideas worth spreading. So whether you're a TED veteran or virgin, we encourage you to clear your schedule and watch at least three talks, back to back. They have a cumulative effect ... — Chris
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Hans Rosling's jaw-dropping demo, on TED.com – June 26, 2007
In a follow-up to his now-legendary TED2006 presentation, Hans Rosling demonstrates how developing countries are pulling themselves out of poverty. He shows us the next generation of his Trendalyzer software -- which analyzes and displays data in amazingly accessible ways, allowing people to see patterns previously hidden behind mountains of stats. (Just days after this talk, he announced a deal with Google to acquire the software.) He also demos Dollar Street, a program that lets you peer in the windows of typical families worldwide living at different income levels. Be sure to watch straight through to the (literally) jaw-dropping finale. (Recorded March 2007 in Monterey, CA. Duration: 19:09) Read more about Hans Rosling on TED.com.
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Visualizing global trends – December 8, 2005
Humans have a hard time picturing certain things: long-term consequences, very large numbers, global trends ... For better or worse, our brains evolved to understand the immediate, "middle-sized" world that confronts us daily. We're grateful then, to the designers and thinkers who make abstract concepts accessible. Case in point: Gapminder, a Stockholm-based non-profit. Their extraordinary interactive graphs help you visualize complex global trends — like the distribution of poverty, in different regions of the world, over time. The raw statistics would bore you to tears; the web graphs — dynamic, colorful and clear — are utterly compelling. They're worth a look — not only for their particular content — but for the possibilities presented by this marriage of technology, information and design. (Link via kottke. Thanks!)
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