Over the past couple weeks, I have rediscovered my admiration for Hans Rosling: the man is a medical doctor by trade but he possesses an overwhelming amount and variety of knowledge. If you have not yet heard of Hans, a good first watch is his video on the transformation of human health and wealth over the past 200 years from 200 countries around the world. It is an amazing video because it really brings to light how, not that long ago, we were all on the same plane in terms of wealth and health. Reading history books every day, I can attest; many places were, until recently, a collectively miserable place to live – and the thought of moving was even more dreadful for most. While this is established historical fact, nostalgic and overly-rosy views of the past persist.

For example, a lot of people have this misconception that people wanted to move to the Americas for a sense of adventure and riches, but this is mistaken. Some Europeans moved over to the Americas with the aim of acquiring riches after they saw the Spanish bringing over wealth from Latin America, however a lot of Europeans moved to the New World out of necessity. Since Europe was not able to provide them with the tools to rise in socio-economic status, the New World was seen as an opportunity to do that.

A lot of people like to say they wish they could live in this early era of America. I can assure you that the sentiment would fade within twenty-four hours of being in that society. I mean let’s think this one through: no baths (they actually feared water in certain capacities, which is why alcohol was the drink of choice), only one pair of shoes and a few sets of clothing (if you were lucky), no dental care, and as Hans points out in the video, the life expectancy in the United States was really low for the time in 1810.

What Hans is able to demonstrate is that even the most simple innovations lead to vast improvements to society. Even though there are many negative images associated with the Industrial Revolution, there were many innovations from that time frame that allowed people to live longer and afforded them a chance to rise in status as a result of their innovations. For me, the most interesting point in the video is when you see where the world is at today, collectively. While some are better off than others, it is undeniable just how better off the world is today than it was in 1810.

Back then, they had different incentives for doing the things they did, and we may never truly or completely understand those reasons. What we do know, is that people tried to make the best of their situation from where they were standing. And it was because of those tough learning experiences that we were guided to knowing what works and what doesn’t. Unfortunately, this process takes time, which is something I think that video really shows better than anything else. If the United States can become better, other countries can also improve on their levels of wealth and health. I hope you have grown to appreciate Hans a little bit more. If you want to check out some of his other material, here are some videos to start with, I hope you enjoy it!

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