

The Incredible Progress of the “Developing World” [video] - sonabinu
http://www.openculture.com/2013/02/hans_rosling_visualizes_the_incredible_progress_of_the_developing_world.html

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RyanZAG
What? Stop measuring and go and visit these countries. Progress is still a
long, long way from developed countries.

EDIT: My point here is that calling the infant care and mortality gap between
developed and developing countries a myth papers over so much of the truth of
the situations in developing countries that it is actively harmful, in my
opinion.

I'd go as far as to say that the data collection itself may be flawed if this
is the conclusion and I hope nobody is making any actual judgements on the
health care positions of African countries from this.

The data itself simply follows too smooth a path across the years, even with
major political instability and war during these years. The data itself is
also self reported by these countries, and they have a lot of reasons to make
it appear that their country is improving.

Basically - these measurements don't appear to match up with the reality on
the ground. Measuring something from across the planet with no direct context
does not seem correct to me.

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sonabinu
sure it is ... but they are not stuck in the same place they were 20 or 30
years back.

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sanoli
But the way the professor is saying makes it look like the countries who move
into the developed world 'square' are now, in fact, developed. Ethiopia's
capital is far, far from 'developed country' status. I guess you and the
parent are right, though.

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vidarh
It seemed pretty clear to me that he was talking about two specific metrics -
child mortality and birth rate -, and using them as an example of how having
data lets you destroy common myths about how far the developing world is
lagging behind.

E.g. we still frequently see the "what do they need the X for, they don't have
food and water" lumping all of Africa in one basket whenever someone presents
a project to provide something other than pure basics to somewhere in Africa -
people are still stuck with the images they got uised to with Live Aid irom
1985.

Meanwhile Arica as a whole is about to pass 80% cellphone penetration.

