Factfulness and Global Development Concepts

Vocabulary flashcards covering Hans Rosling's Factfulness concepts, cognitive instincts, global development metrics, and cultural growth theories from the lecture notes.

Four Income Levels

Hans Rosling's global economic framework that replaces the binary 'rich vs. poor' or 'developed vs. developing' worldview by categorizing the world population across four income levels, with the vast majority living in levels two and three.

Fear Instinct

The evolutionary cognitive wiring that attracts human attention to dramatic, low-risk dangers rather than long-term positive trends or statistically higher actual risks.

Single Perspective Instinct

The tendency to seek simple, single-cause explanations or solutions and universally apply them to complex social and political problems.

Destiny Instinct

The mistaken belief that a country, culture, or region possesses fixed, unchanging characteristics that permanently dictate its economic or social trajectory.

Magic Bullet

A simple, default prepackaged explanation or single remedy that people improperly apply to explain all world events or complex failures.

Qualitative Data

Descriptive, observational evidence—such as citizens wearing shoes at Mozambique's Independence Day parade—used alongside big data statistics to evaluate economic progress.

Pew Global Attitudes Project

A global survey dataset used to measure cultural variables, such as regional differences in religious importance or beliefs in ancestral spirit sacrifices.

Dollar Street

A visual framework used to demonstrate that everyday living conditions across the world are primarily determined by income level rather than by country, culture, or religion.

Tooth Decay Relationship

A non-linear statistical curve showing low tooth decay at Level 1 income due to lack of sugar, high decay at Level 2 due to sugar intake without dental access, and managed decay at Level 4 with frequent dental care.

1993 Cuban Neurological Epidemic

A widespread neurological crisis in Cuba caused by malnutrition and severe food shortages following the collapse of the Soviet Union, which primarily affected men surviving on rice.

US Healthcare Expenditure Paradox

The statistical discrepancy where the United States spends significantly more per capita on healthcare than any other nation while maintaining a life expectancy comparable to much poorer countries such as Cuba.