It&#x27;s funny, but I actually have more innate suspicion of people saying &quot;it&#x27;s not so bad&quot; than I do of the doomsayers--and I <i>know better</i>.  One of my favorite quips is &quot;just because it confirms your worst fears doesn&#x27;t make it true.&quot;  (And I often have to use it as a mantra to remind myself that I know better than to believe whatever bleak headline someone just shared on Facebook.)<p>For those who find Rosling interesting, I&#x27;d recommend <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.gapminder.org&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.gapminder.org&#x2F;</a> , which includes the tool he talks about in his TED presentation.