This document discusses ten common storytelling instincts that can lead people to misinterpret facts or see them as more dramatic than reality. It provides examples of these instincts, such as the destiny instinct (believing things will never change), the negativity instinct (focusing on negative news), and the size instinct (judging the importance of something based on its perceived size rather than actual impact). The document encourages people to recognize these instincts and question dramatic stories that may trigger them in order to have a more fact-based understanding of the world.

2. Lecture 30
Economic Development

3. A solar farm
requires 450
times more
land to produce
the same amount
of energy as a
nuclear plant.
Solar
Nuclear
Land Requirements
Source: quillette.com/2019/02/27/why-renewables-cant-save-the-planet/
What’s
Greener?

5. It never changes!
The Destiny Instinct
This is the solution!
The Single Perspective Instinct
Dramatic Instincts
The Fear Instinct
It’s scary!
The Negativity Instinct
It’s getting worse!
The Size Instinct
It’s big!
The Blame Instinct
That’s the bad guy!
The Urgency Instinct
It’s now or never!
This poster is part of Gapminder’s free teaching resources. Gapminder is an independent Swedish foundation with no political, religious or economic affiliations. We fight devastating misconceptions with a fact-based worldview which everyone can
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The Straight Line Instinct
It just continues!
The Generalization Instinct
They are all the same!
The gap instinct
Look at the gap!
Learn to recognize the ten common story types that often make us
misinterpret facts and see them as more dramatic than they are.
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www.gapminder.org/factfulness
Rules of Thumb
Is there really a gap?
Locate the majority
TO CONTROL THE GAP INSTINCT
Would improvement get attention?
Expect negative news
TO CONTROL THE NEGATIVITY INSTINCT
Is it really dangerous?
Calculate the risk
TO CONTROL THE FEAR INSTINCT
Is it big in comparison?
Check the proportions
TO CONTROL THE SIZE INSTINCT
Isn’t it always changing slowly?
Notice slow changes
TO CONTROL THE DESTINY INSTINCT
What other solutions exist?
Use multiple tools
TO CONTROL THE SINGLE PERSPECTIVE INSTINCT
What system made this possible?
Resist pointing finger
TO CONTROL THE BLAME INSTINCT
Can we make decisions as we go?
Take small steps
TO CONTROL THE URGENCY INSTINCT
FACTFULNESS
Why would this line not bend?
Imagine bending lines
TO CONTROL THE STRAIGHT LINE INSTINCT
How are they different?
Question your categories
TO CONTROL THE GENERALIZATION INSTINCT
Control your dramatic instincts by making it a habit to always
question dramatic stories that trigger your dramatic instincts.
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www.gapminder.org/factfulness

6. Global Death Risk from Climate
1920 2018
500,000 deaths with 1.9 billion people
100 per 380,000
20,000 deaths with 7.6 billion people
1 per 380,000
Source: OFDA/CRED International Disaster Database, www.emdat.be

7. Up in Smoke
Indoor air pollution is the leading
environmental cause of death in the world
World Health Organization
2 million deaths annually

8. Up in Smoke
Many households accepted the
(almost free) stoves, but they did
not use them regularly, failed to
maintain them properly, and used
them even less over time.

10. The researchers found that
women in rural Bangladesh do
not perceive indoor air
pollution as a significant health
hazard

11. Quiz
1.Was the Erie Canal a pull or push innovation?
2.What is the difference between infant mortality and
child mortality?
3.What is the average child mortality rate for Sierra
Leone, Congo, and Somalia?