I thought that maybe at the end of a year that concluded with such sadness from Newtown, Connecticut, and from those still suffering from Hurricane Sandy and from the atrocity in India and so many other places of pain in the world, it might be nice to think about something hopeful.
The hope comes from a Swedish medical doctor, academic and statistician named Hans Rosling. He is a professor of International Health and also a star among nerds on the BBC.
To quote the BBC: "Hans Rosling's lectures use huge quantities of public data to reveal the story of the world's past, present and future development. Now he tells the story of the world in 200 countries over 200 years using 120,000 numbers -- in just four minutes."
In a brief video, Rosling makes a case that in the big, big picture, the world is getting healthier and wealthier and that progress has picked up speed in the last sixty years.
"I see a clear trend into the future with aid, trade, green technology and peace. Everyone can make it to the healthy, wealthy corner," Rosling concludes.
Here's the video.
It seems to be a human trait to want to believe that things are just about to go over a cliff, to use a recent analogy. But Rosling offers hope for the future by looking to the past. The trend, he concludes, is not down but up.
So, I don't believe we're on the eve of destruction. It's the morning of hope. Happy New Year!