In my quest for facts about poverty … here is very edutaining video by Hans Rosling demonstrating how developing countries are pulling themselves out of poverty. He shows us the next generation of his Trendalyzer software — which analyzes and displays data in amazingly accessible ways, allowing people to see patterns previously hidden behind mountains of stats. (Ten days later, he announced a deal with Google to acquire the software.) He also demos Dollar Street, a program that lets you peer in the windows of typical families worldwide living at different income levels. Be sure to watch straight through to the (literally) jaw-dropping finale.
Also, check out the GapMinder web service (now run by Google) … incredibly interesting!
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Two great pieces of software and a great presenter. However, what I found really helpful was the ranking of means and ends.