Numbers Don't Lie is a collection of thought-provoking short discussions by Professor Vaclav Smil, a brilliant teacher and prolific author. There are 71 short pieces about data and information, mostly focusing on trying to make sense of numerical information by analyzing the historical and international context; and thinking about different ways to understand the data.
Even in just the Introduction, there were already some surprising facts and comparisons that got me thinking. For example I was surprised to learn that Nigeria, as Africa’s most populous country, only uses 35 gigajoules of energy per year; while France was using 35 gigajoules per year by 1880. There are comparisons like this throughout the book, with the goal of putting raw data into a more digestible context, or helping you see numerical comparisons from a different perspective.
The book is divided into seven sections sections: People, Countries, Machines/Designs/Devices, Fuels/Electricity, Transport, Food, and Environment. In each section, Smil has several chapters that are each only a few pages. The chapters are each isolated stories about data, and don't really flow into each other like one cohesive narrative. This makes it easy to read a few, then put the book down and come back to it later, as you don't need the information from previous chapters to understand the next chapter.
There were some great thought exercises in this book, and I loved how Smil was able to come up with creative analogies and comparisons to encourage thinking about information in different ways. The book is an easy read, and because the chapters are short and not bogged down in too many technical terms, it should appeal to a wide audience. Highly recommended!
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Fun ways of thinking about data, and putting things into correct historical context
Numbers Don't Lie is a collection of thought-provoking short discussions by Professor Vaclav Smil, a brilliant teacher and prolific author. There are 71 short pieces about data and information, mostly focusing on trying to make sense of numerical information by analyzing the historical and international context; and thinking about different ways to understand the data.Even in just the Introduction, there were already some surprising facts and comparisons that got me thinking. For example I was surprised to learn that Nigeria, as Africa’s most populous country, only uses 35 gigajoules of energy per year; while France was using 35 gigajoules per year by 1880. There are comparisons like this throughout the book, with the goal of putting raw data into a more digestible context, or helping you see numerical comparisons from a different perspective.The book is divided into seven sections sections: People, Countries, Machines/Designs/Devices, Fuels/Electricity, Transport, Food, and Environment. In each section, Smil has several chapters that are each only a few pages. The chapters are each isolated stories about data, and don't really flow into each other like one cohesive narrative. This makes it easy to read a few, then put the book down and come back to it later, as you don't need the information from previous chapters to understand the next chapter.There were some great thought exercises in this book, and I loved how Smil was able to come up with creative analogies and comparisons to encourage thinking about information in different ways. The book is an easy read, and because the chapters are short and not bogged down in too many technical terms, it should appeal to a wide audience. Highly recommended!
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Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2021
Even in just the Introduction, there were already some surprising facts and comparisons that got me thinking. For example I was surprised to learn that Nigeria, as Africa’s most populous country, only uses 35 gigajoules of energy per year; while France was using 35 gigajoules per year by 1880. There are comparisons like this throughout the book, with the goal of putting raw data into a more digestible context, or helping you see numerical comparisons from a different perspective.
The book is divided into seven sections sections: People, Countries, Machines/Designs/Devices, Fuels/Electricity, Transport, Food, and Environment. In each section, Smil has several chapters that are each only a few pages. The chapters are each isolated stories about data, and don't really flow into each other like one cohesive narrative. This makes it easy to read a few, then put the book down and come back to it later, as you don't need the information from previous chapters to understand the next chapter.
There were some great thought exercises in this book, and I loved how Smil was able to come up with creative analogies and comparisons to encourage thinking about information in different ways. The book is an easy read, and because the chapters are short and not bogged down in too many technical terms, it should appeal to a wide audience. Highly recommended!
Fun ways of thinking about data, and putting things into correct historical context
Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2021
Numbers Don't Lie is a collection of thought-provoking short discussions by Professor Vaclav Smil, a brilliant teacher and prolific author. There are 71 short pieces about data and information, mostly focusing on trying to make sense of numerical information by analyzing the historical and international context; and thinking about different ways to understand the data.Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2021
Even in just the Introduction, there were already some surprising facts and comparisons that got me thinking. For example I was surprised to learn that Nigeria, as Africa’s most populous country, only uses 35 gigajoules of energy per year; while France was using 35 gigajoules per year by 1880. There are comparisons like this throughout the book, with the goal of putting raw data into a more digestible context, or helping you see numerical comparisons from a different perspective.
The book is divided into seven sections sections: People, Countries, Machines/Designs/Devices, Fuels/Electricity, Transport, Food, and Environment. In each section, Smil has several chapters that are each only a few pages. The chapters are each isolated stories about data, and don't really flow into each other like one cohesive narrative. This makes it easy to read a few, then put the book down and come back to it later, as you don't need the information from previous chapters to understand the next chapter.
There were some great thought exercises in this book, and I loved how Smil was able to come up with creative analogies and comparisons to encourage thinking about information in different ways. The book is an easy read, and because the chapters are short and not bogged down in too many technical terms, it should appeal to a wide audience. Highly recommended!
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