Ridgway Public Library

When asked simple questions about global trends--what percentage of the world's population live in poverty; why the world's population is increasing; how many girls finish school--we systematically get the answers wrong. So wrong that a chimpanzee choosing answers at random will consistently outguess teachers, journalists, Nobel laureates, and investment bankers. In Factfulness, Professor of International Health and global TED phenomenon Hans Rosling,...

"Throughout the world, millions of people face food insecurity every day. Although the United States is a prosperous country, it is not immune to this problem. Concerns about where their next meal is coming from plague hundreds of thousands of Americans. Understanding what food insecurity means is the first step toward solving it . . . text and . . . fact boxes give readers a better understanding of the facts surrounding this often complex issue....

All eyes are upon Rikio. And he likes it, mostly. His fans cheer from a roped-off section, screaming and yelling to attract his attention--they would kill for a moment alone with him. Finally the director sets up the shot, the camera begins to roll, someone yells "action"; Rikio, for a moment, transforms into another being, a hardened young yakuza, but as soon as the shot is finished, he slumps back into his own anxieties and obsessions. Being a star,...

"Have you ever had the feeling that you're just not getting through to the person you're talking with, or coming across the way you intend to? You're not alone. Our usual approach is to just talk louder, to try harder to get our message through. This is almost always the wrong approach. Why? Because other people almost never see us the way we see ourselves. Fortunately, these distortions in perception are systematic, understandable, and surmountable....