Gapminder

Hans Rosling is a doctor and professor of international health at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden.  He is somewhat of a rock star on the international lecture circuit - - TED conferences, World Economic Forum at Davos, etc.  What has produced his rock star status is data visualization software - - developed by his Gapminder Foundation.  He produces roadmaps for the modern world - - tools that transform reams of economic and public health data into gripping stories.

Rosling is profiled in the December 11th issue of The Economist (Making Data Dance).  Key points from the article include the following:

• When people have a proper roadmap and know what the global realities are, they'll make better decisions.
• Rosling is focused on removing the "we" and "they" from statistical data - - wants data and stories to move more toward "us".
• Innovation in infographics has always been driven by the need to better explain different things.
• He wants data to look alive.
• This Gapmider software was purchased by Google and is available under the name "Google Motion Chart."
• Trade data makes up 80% of public statistics.
• Look for a future of "freeer" and more "open sourced" data - - The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation demands that every research project it funds has to make its full data set freely available.
• The people who create statistics are very often not the same kind of people needed to communicate them.

Additional information is available at the following links:

Gapminder

Google Motion Chart

Rosling TED YouTube Presentation