Nonfiction

Numbers Don't Lie: 71 Things You Need to Know About the World

Numbers Don't Lie: 71 Things You Need to Know About the World

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  • Create Date：2021-06-06 09:51:10
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
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  • Author：Vaclav Smil
  • ISBN：0241989698
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Summary

'There is no author whose books I look forward to more than Vaclav Smil' Bill Gates

'Smil's title says it all: to understand the world， you need to follow the trendlines， not the headlines。 This is a compelling， fascinating， and most important， realistic portrait of the world and where it's going' Steven Pinker

Is flying dangerous？ How much do the world's cows weigh？ And what makes people happy？

From Earth's nations and inhabitants， through the fuels and foods that energize them， to the transportation and inventions of our modern world - and how all of this affects the planet itself - in Numbers Don't Lie， Professor Vaclav Smil takes us on a fact-finding adventure， using surprising statistics and illuminating graphs to challenge lazy thinking。 Smil is on a mission to make facts matter， because after all， numbers may not lie， but which truth do they convey？

'The best book to read to better understand our world。 It should be on every bookshelf！' Linda Yueh

'For anyone confused by statistics or dubious of data in a world where numbers seem to mean everything and nothing' BBC Science Focus

'There is perhaps no other academic who paints pictures with numbers like Smil' Guardian

'An author who does not allow facts to be obscured or overshadowed by politics' New York Review of Books

'He's a slayer of bullshit' David Keith， Harvard University

Vaclav Smil is Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Manitoba。 He is the author of over forty books on topics including energy， environmental and population change， food production and nutrition， technical innovation， risk assessment and public policy。 No other living scientist has had more books （on a wide variety of topics） reviewed in Nature。 A Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada， in 2010 he was named by Foreign Policy as one of the Top 100 Global Thinkers。 This is his first book for a more general readership。

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Reviews

Udit Nair ，

First and foremost I really like the way the book is structured。 It consists of small articles which the author has written for various publications and now has been compiled here。 Since all of them are really short ones one can easily pick up the book from anywhere and start reading。 （And can leave in between and restart again at another time）。The main premise of the book is to make us understand the complexity of the world we live in through numbers。 It helps immensely in our pursuit of better First and foremost I really like the way the book is structured。 It consists of small articles which the author has written for various publications and now has been compiled here。 Since all of them are really short ones one can easily pick up the book from anywhere and start reading。 （And can leave in between and restart again at another time）。The main premise of the book is to make us understand the complexity of the world we live in through numbers。 It helps immensely in our pursuit of better understanding this world and hence make it a better place。 The author has stated in the introduction that the goal is to demonstrate not only that numbers do not lie， but to discover which truth they convey。 The book deals with diverse number of areas and hence it is surely a delightful read。 On the way one discovers new things and also understands the larger picture where the numbers are already known。 One can dive in to the book if they are wondering about these questions-1。 Which is the best indicator of quality of life？2。 How far can China go？3。 Why we shouldn't write diesel off just yet？4。 Why Nuclear electricity is am unfulfilled promise？5。 What's rational meat eating？6。 What's worse for the environment- your car or the phone？ Again these are only 6 out of 71 interesting topics which are covered in this essential read。 I like how efficiently the author has conveyed very complex ideas in a simplistic manner。 Again when backed with statistics you cant really ignore the assertion even when its counterintuitive。 The only drawback I encountered while reading the book was that the articles ended too soon。 The fact that book covers 71 articles it became too short and a deeper and meaningful analysis was not possible。 I know the very strength of this book also makes for a weakness in my opinion。 。。。more

Sivakumar Thangavelu ，

71 interesting stories。 Enjoy！

Miguel ，

Not my favorite version of Smil as this is more like a bathroom book with miniscule chapters on some fairly weighty issues and didn’t think that he would author a ‘bathroom book’。 Though packed with a lot of facts and figures， it feels like a lot of filler especially when you know what he is capable of writing。 Still if it serves to introduce a wider audience to the topics of population trends， energy use， and environmental impact then it was a worthwhile endeavor。

Jaysen Huculak ，

An informative and thought provoking collection of essays about how our world works to how we could improve it， all from first principles。 This is like reading Malcolm Gladwell but for useful science rather than entertaining surprises。 The data isn't a surprising twist。 The data is just the data and we're often ignoring the obvious。So if you want to find out how many people it took to build the pyramids based off their potential energy， why you should consider triple pane glass or why our abilit An informative and thought provoking collection of essays about how our world works to how we could improve it， all from first principles。 This is like reading Malcolm Gladwell but for useful science rather than entertaining surprises。 The data isn't a surprising twist。 The data is just the data and we're often ignoring the obvious。So if you want to find out how many people it took to build the pyramids based off their potential energy， why you should consider triple pane glass or why our ability to sweat is what made us successful， this book has all that and more。 。。。more

Hamilton Carvalho ，

I wish Smil ventured outside his comfort zone and connected the dots he presented so well in some of the chapters。 The media， the political system and the general public need to understand how inertia in our socioeconomic systems and the energy requirements of our current unsustainable civilization are heading us to a catasthrophic scenario in （probably） less than a generation。 On a side note， I wish Amazon employed more female narrators -- I am tired of the male ones。

Jacob Vernon ，

Not a bad sample of interesting quantitative science。Highlights the importance of context。I would probably regard this more highly if I hadn't recently read overlapping books。 Not a bad sample of interesting quantitative science。Highlights the importance of context。I would probably regard this more highly if I hadn't recently read overlapping books。 。。。more

Nilendu Misra ，

This book will make you sound smart in a very bookish kind of way。 You will for sure gloat knowing only about 30% of longevity is heritable， and - in reality - perhaps less so because we marry people like ourselves， a phenomenon known aa “assortative mating”。 Or， that bipedalism’s deal thrust to humanity was our ability to breathe more than once per locomotive cycle， unlike a tiger whose chest must absorb the impact on the front limbs。 In short， this kind of book will make you rattle facts like This book will make you sound smart in a very bookish kind of way。 You will for sure gloat knowing only about 30% of longevity is heritable， and - in reality - perhaps less so because we marry people like ourselves， a phenomenon known aa “assortative mating”。 Or， that bipedalism’s deal thrust to humanity was our ability to breathe more than once per locomotive cycle， unlike a tiger whose chest must absorb the impact on the front limbs。 In short， this kind of book will make you rattle facts like above， thus shunned by most normal people so you can read more books like this！ Oh， drinking more milk in childhood is the best predictive variable for a kid’s adult height。 。。。more

Sascha ，

Light read that covers a broad array of topics that the author has interest or knowledge about。 Since the takes are short， they can't be exhaustive， but they are still informative and mostly fun。 Occasionally feels like a blog， in that the author opines or editorializes which can be either good or bad depending， but I would have rather something more dry weirdly enough。 Light read that covers a broad array of topics that the author has interest or knowledge about。 Since the takes are short， they can't be exhaustive， but they are still informative and mostly fun。 Occasionally feels like a blog， in that the author opines or editorializes which can be either good or bad depending， but I would have rather something more dry weirdly enough。 。。。more

Becky L Long ，

Audiobook read by Ben Prendergast。 Loved this book。 Answers so many 。。。。 uh 。。。。。 seemingly random questions but does so in a logical manner with the numbers and research and math to back it up。 If you need one book outside of your normal genre this year， this one should be it。 So if you've ever wondered what's worse for the environment: your car or your cell phone or what height has to do with quality of life or how many of your modern conveniences were developed in the 1880s or how happiness i Audiobook read by Ben Prendergast。 Loved this book。 Answers so many 。。。。 uh 。。。。。 seemingly random questions but does so in a logical manner with the numbers and research and math to back it up。 If you need one book outside of your normal genre this year， this one should be it。 So if you've ever wondered what's worse for the environment: your car or your cell phone or what height has to do with quality of life or how many of your modern conveniences were developed in the 1880s or how happiness is measured， then pick up this book。 It's short and sweet with "potato chip" chapters。 We aren't quite halfway through the year yet， but this might turn into my #1 recommended book of 2021。 Vitally important information here。 。。。more

Saif AL Jahwari ，

Good book！ It provides informative insights on the importance of reading numbers to truly understand reality and predict our future。 I do like more the first two sections of the book about people and countries。

TheVampireBookworm ，

I like informative books。 And what I like even more is when super smart people are able to write something even us mediocre people can understand。 And this book was just that。 Collected data put in bigger picture。 I won't lie， some charts in this black and white edition were hard to read because it was difficult to distinguish between similar shades of grey but it was explained in the text。 All the pieces of information were categorised into chapters with similar topic so， of course， when it cam I like informative books。 And what I like even more is when super smart people are able to write something even us mediocre people can understand。 And this book was just that。 Collected data put in bigger picture。 I won't lie， some charts in this black and white edition were hard to read because it was difficult to distinguish between similar shades of grey but it was explained in the text。 All the pieces of information were categorised into chapters with similar topic so， of course， when it came to energy I was a bit scared because that's something I only vaguely know about。 But there were other chapters to make up for it。 。。。more

Sara Rocutto ，

Tanti aneddoti da cui prendere ispirazione per costruire riflessioni un po’ alternative su energia， società， alimentazione。 Merita。

Chris ，

2。5 stars， review to come

Kathleen Gray ，

Not my usual genre， to be sure， but I found much of this fascinating。 Treat it as the collection it is- there are 71 short essays， some of which are more informative than others- and dip in and out。 Smil has grouped his work， which has already been published in different fora， into sections。 Numbers don't lie but they can be interpreted differently and Smil addresses that here as well。 I gained a fair amount of new trivia （not a bad thing） and enjoyed the humor （even when he's a bit of a grouch） Not my usual genre， to be sure， but I found much of this fascinating。 Treat it as the collection it is- there are 71 short essays， some of which are more informative than others- and dip in and out。 Smil has grouped his work， which has already been published in different fora， into sections。 Numbers don't lie but they can be interpreted differently and Smil addresses that here as well。 I gained a fair amount of new trivia （not a bad thing） and enjoyed the humor （even when he's a bit of a grouch）。 This never went over my head。 Thanks to Edelweiss for the ARC。 A good read and useful resource。 。。。more

Pieter ，

In the pro- and epilogue Vaclav Smil mentions that the goal of the book is to show that numbers should always be looked at in the context both broader and narrower。 Numbers might not lie， but their truth is not always immediately apparent。 The book provides 72 example questions plus answers， limiting each question to only a few pages。 While not unexpected， all the examples come at the cost of detail。 The author might show that numbers need to be examined from various angles， but， since only very In the pro- and epilogue Vaclav Smil mentions that the goal of the book is to show that numbers should always be looked at in the context both broader and narrower。 Numbers might not lie， but their truth is not always immediately apparent。 The book provides 72 example questions plus answers， limiting each question to only a few pages。 While not unexpected， all the examples come at the cost of detail。 The author might show that numbers need to be examined from various angles， but， since only very few examples even include a minor discussion on the meaning， it is left to the reader to fill in the blanks: there is *n0* overarching narrative or argument。 It also create a sense of contradictive examples especially in the chapter on technological development and the environment。 The shortness of each chapter also means some things are provided as fact， but on what basis does the author concludes that milk drinking increases the age of death？ There might be a correlation， but is not the same as it being the cause。 Finally， the author is kind of negative in the far majority of his examples， especially when it comes to environment and technological developments。 Are there really no positive examples on numbers except the occasional one in transportation？ To be honest， when I read the author proudly proclaim he has never used a smartphone， and describes an average day of the life in an office worker that comes nowhere near my or that of my co-workers， he comes across as a bit behind the times。 All in all， it is an easily digestible book that provides some food for thought， but it lacks body， partially expected due to its setup and partially due to the chosen randomness of the subjects and negative/contradictive example。 If you look for a quick read and some alternative points of view on various questions， it is the book for you。 Otherwise， meh。 。。。more

J ，

This work is a collection of Smil's essays written for his column IEEEs Spectrum magazine。 It is by far at its strongest when Smil stays in his wheelhouse of energy efficiency， climate change， the use of nitrogen， and comparing the increasing efficiencies of motors， photo voltaic cells， wind turbines， gas furnaces and coal for steel and cement。 It is a much weaker piece where Smil repeats statistics about food consumption， declining milk consumption， increasing milk consumption in SEA， and decli This work is a collection of Smil's essays written for his column IEEEs Spectrum magazine。 It is by far at its strongest when Smil stays in his wheelhouse of energy efficiency， climate change， the use of nitrogen， and comparing the increasing efficiencies of motors， photo voltaic cells， wind turbines， gas furnaces and coal for steel and cement。 It is a much weaker piece where Smil repeats statistics about food consumption， declining milk consumption， increasing milk consumption in SEA， and declining alcohol consumption in Europe。 I'm still not quite sure how Morocco and Croatia snuck into the Mediterranean diet。His love of figures and calorie consumption statistics reflects an engineer's understanding of the world。 。。。more

Harley Fricker ，

I’ve just finished ‘Numbers Don’t Lie’ by Vaclav Smil and I give it four stars。 The book is a compilation of topics in a range of themes that uses numbers （maths） to bring perspective to the complex realities that we live in， often multiple at once。 Vaclav is admired by Bill Gates for his knowledge on Energy， these themes are quite interesting - China has produced more cement in one year than the US has produced in the entire 20th century。 I struggle with books that are start/stop but recommend I’ve just finished ‘Numbers Don’t Lie’ by Vaclav Smil and I give it four stars。 The book is a compilation of topics in a range of themes that uses numbers （maths） to bring perspective to the complex realities that we live in， often multiple at once。 Vaclav is admired by Bill Gates for his knowledge on Energy， these themes are quite interesting - China has produced more cement in one year than the US has produced in the entire 20th century。 I struggle with books that are start/stop but recommend this for the bedside table。 。。。more

James ，

Very quick and easy read compared to Smil's other books。 Quite informative on a variety of topics。 I learned quite a lot that I think is useful to help me understand the world from this book， but what really makes it notable is the content density rather than total volume of information。 I would not agree that everything in this book is something you need to know， but it does seem like a very good way to patch up unknown unknowns at a fast rate。Notes:t• Smil argues that infant mortality is a goo Very quick and easy read compared to Smil's other books。 Quite informative on a variety of topics。 I learned quite a lot that I think is useful to help me understand the world from this book， but what really makes it notable is the content density rather than total volume of information。 I would not agree that everything in this book is something you need to know， but it does seem like a very good way to patch up unknown unknowns at a fast rate。Notes:t• Smil argues that infant mortality is a good measure of quality of life because low mortality requires good healthcare， infrastructure， nutrition， sanitation， equality， etc。t• Vaccines are extremely cheap - pentavalent vaccines protect against ten diseases and cost $1 eacht• Gates foundation study in N>100 LMICs found that vaccination investment produces 16x savings in future medical costs。 Factoring in "other economic effects"， average ROI goes to 44x （CI 27x-67x， probably 95%？） with measles the highest at 58x。t• Lifespan trends look like a symmetrical logistic with the upper asymptote at 90t• Smil strongly advocates for the use of gas turbines for supplying peak power， replacing the current role of coal peaker plants in filling gaps left by intermittent energy sources。 Says they are the most efficient fossil fuel energy source， have less emissions because they run on gas， and are cheap， quiet， durable， etct• Nuclear power plant count was exponential from 1860 until 1887， when the curve broke and went flat。 Chernobyl was in 1886。t• Wind turbine primary energy payback time tends to be on the order of a year。 Carbon payback is a lot more ambiguous though。 Problem is， the processes we need to make wind turbines require fossil fuels， and we don't have good non-fossil substitutes。 So in a high-carbon world， wind pays back its carbon investment by displacing fossil electricity。 But in a low-carbon world， it might not be worth it。t• Real price of electricity has decreased by a factor of 38 since 1902t• 27% of final energy consumption is electricityt• Major sectors without low-carbon options to transition to: long distance travel （need high gravimetric energy density）， iron （needs heat for smelting）， cement （needs heat for kilns）， ammonia （H2 sources， heat for catalysis）， and plastics （duh）。tt○ Low carbon heat would be huge！t• Aviation is about 2% of global emissions。 On my view， likely to never decarbonize （on a time scale relevant to climate change）t• Driving a car and smoking are in the same ballpark for per-hour fatality risk！ 100x higher than backgroundt• Most common synthetic fertilizer from Haber-Bosch is solid ureat• Introduction of semi-dwarf wheat led to 3x-5x increases in yieldt• About 1/3 of primary food production is wasted。 In the developing world， this comes from spoilage， pests， and other losses in production， storage and transport。 In the developed world， though， waste during the consumption phase is way higher。t• Food waste may be responsible for ~10% of global emissions！t• Cars' energy consumption during use （gas） is about 5x primary energy to produce the car。t• Phones primary energy cost （accounting for shorter lifetime） is similar to cars！ Total emissions from electronics manufacturing may be importantt• Triple-glazed or otherwise better insulated windows may be one of the biggest opportunities lying around for energy savings 。。。more

Víctor Gómez ，

Factfullnes + Ourworldindata = este libro。Esperaba más que una recopilación de artículos inconexos， que si bien son interesantes， indaga poco en por qué las cosas son así， cómo hacer estimaciones a futuro y por qué la energía es tan importante。 Si has leído otros libros del autor， este es mucho más ligero。

Mangku Parasdyo ，

Di google play books beberapa buku Vaclav Smil sudah masuk ke Wishlist ku sejak 2019。 Buku seperti Growth: From Microorganisms to Megacities， Energy and Civilization: A History， Should We Eat Meat？: Evolution and Consequences of Modern Carnivory dan Harvesting the Biosphere: What We Have Taken from Nature sudah lama ingin kubeli。 Hanya saja meskipun harganya sudah dicoret （yang artinya diskon） harganya masih terlalu mahal。 Alternatif andalanku Gramedia Digital juga belum menerjemahkan karya-kary Di google play books beberapa buku Vaclav Smil sudah masuk ke Wishlist ku sejak 2019。 Buku seperti Growth: From Microorganisms to Megacities， Energy and Civilization: A History， Should We Eat Meat？: Evolution and Consequences of Modern Carnivory dan Harvesting the Biosphere: What We Have Taken from Nature sudah lama ingin kubeli。 Hanya saja meskipun harganya sudah dicoret （yang artinya diskon） harganya masih terlalu mahal。 Alternatif andalanku Gramedia Digital juga belum menerjemahkan karya-karya Vaclav Smil。Pada di akhir 2020， muncul rekomendasi buku ini。 Kulihat dari preview buku ini terdiri dari berbagai tulisan vaclav smil， ada yang baru ada pula yang cuma disarikan dari buku atau tulisannya yang sudah pernah di publish。 Temanya sendiri beraneka ragam。 aku anggap buku ini steal deal， berbagai karya Smil bisa kubaca dalam satu buku saja， ditambah harga buku ini yang lumayan terjangkau dibandingkan buku2 karya Smil yang lain。Membaca buku ini seperti praktik interpretasi dari How to Lie with Statistics dengan data yang lebih banyak dan luas。 Smil menyajikan berbagai angka-angka， rasio dan perbandingan。 Agak pusing juga melihatnya apalagi jika temanya tidak familiar。 Smil mencoba untuk melakukan analisis angka-angka ini dari berbagai skala dan mencoba untuk menginterpretasinya dari sudut pandang alternatif。 Seperti ketika ia membahas tingkat kebahagian di berbagai negara， negara dengan selisih ranking yang sangat jauh tentu jelas perbedaannya， namun ia tidak melihat perbedaan yang jelas dan signifikan ketika mengajar di Denmark dan Finlandia negara dengan tingkat kebahagiannya yang berselisih 2，2%。 Ia mengkritisi lembaga2 pemerintah ataupun donor yang teralu fokus pada angka-angka ini。 Menganggap bahwa kenaikan beberapa poin pada tingkat kebahagian adalah hasil kerja yang dapat dibanggakan。 Aku jadi teringat bahwa di negara kita juga kadang menggunakan kenaikan dan penurunan angka-angka seolah-olah itu hal yang signifikan， padahal jika dipikir-pikir tidak ada perbedaan yang berarti pada beberapa poin itu。 Bisa jadi kenaikan dan penurunannya masih dalam level standar deviasi yang memungkinkan。Ia juga memberikan kritik terhadap GDP sebagai tolak ukur kemajuan suatu negara， bahkan disaat yang terburuk GDP bisa naik。 Misal dengan adanya pandemi， kebutuhan kesehatan meningkat， GDP bisa naik， atau ketika ada bencana seperti gempa atau tornado yang meluluh lantakkan bangunan maka kebutuhan akan bangunan juga naik， yang akhirnya berpengaruh pada GDP juga。 Premis-premis seperti ini banyak dimunculkan Smil dibuku ini， penggunaan angka-angka yang tidak seharusnya serta alternatif bagaimana seharusnya sesuatu diukur。 Tema yang menurutku menarik adalah tema tentang makanan， mungkin karena aku sendiri familiar dengan tema ini。 Smil membeberkan fakta bahwa， meskipun berbagai pemerintahan dan lembaga mendorong peningkatan produksi pangan agar dapat mengikuti laju pertumbuhan penduduk， kenyataannya sepertiga produksi pangan kita setiap tahun hanya berakhir menjadi sampah saja。 Ini disebabkan oleh rusaknya makanan saat penyimpanan dan transport terutama di negara miskin atau karena konsumen yang terlalu pemilih yang didominasi di negara kaya。 ketidakpahaman perbedaan antara best before dan expired date terutama di negara maju membuat sampah makanan makin tambah banyak。 Namun yang tidak dibahas oleh penulis adalah meskipun sepertiga produksi makanan itu hilang， semuanya terbayar， hilang atau rusaknya makanan menjadi bagian dari resiko， sepanjang resikonya terbayar dari harga jual maka tak pernah ada yang protes。 Meskipun ini berarti konsumen sebenarnya membayar lebih daripada yang seharusnya ia keluarkan。 Maka secara ekonomi peningkatan produksi pangan selalu masuk akal。 Hanya saja yang diutarakan Smil tentang rusaknya alam dan tanah akibat penggunaan bahan kimia untuk produksi pangan memang benar。Dibuku ini Smil juga menjelaskan hewan yang paling menderita demi kelangsungan hidup manusia， yaitu ayam boiler。 Menarik karena aku sendiri tidak pernah menyadari penderitaan yang dialami ayam itu。 Seperti yang dikatakan Smil， sebagian manusia modern tidak banyak terlibat dalam rantai produksi makanan selain sebagai konsumen akhir saja。Menariknya adalah meskipun Smil tidak merasakan perbedaan signifikan di negara dengan tingkat kebahagiaan yang berselisih 2，2%。 pada Bab akhir ia merasa perlu mengganti penghangat rumahnya yang sebelumnya punya tingkat efisiensi 94% ke penghangat yang memiliki tingkat efisiensi 97%。 Agak kontradiktif aja sih。hehehe。Buku ini sangat menarik， banyak angka-angka namun yang paling penting adalah bagaimana interpretasi dan sikap yang perlu diambil dalam menanggapi angka-angka tersebut。 Kesemuanya disampaikan dengan baik， setidaknya penjelasan Smil dibuku ini dapat memberikan perspektif baru， meskipun ada beberapa hal yang ia sampaikan aku tidak setuju， sebagian kecilnya aku bahkan tidak terlalu peduli， namun banyak hal yang menjadi concern dari Smil yang aku sangat setuju。 。。。more

Martinez Claudio ，

Claro y con una lógica aplastante。 Se puede leer del fin al principio o al revés 。 Lo mismo da。 Está todo muy ordenado y claro。 Me ha encantado

Caleb Dagenhart ，

In an age when opinion and misinformation often seem to rule the day， Smil's ranging data-driven snippets remind us that we live during a time with a great potential for truth and evidence-based thinking。These essays cover country population statistics， energy usage， food production， environmental trends， and much more。 They are data-dense without being data-burdensome; even those who are not "numbers people" can still follow along and take the overall point without worrying too much about the d In an age when opinion and misinformation often seem to rule the day， Smil's ranging data-driven snippets remind us that we live during a time with a great potential for truth and evidence-based thinking。These essays cover country population statistics， energy usage， food production， environmental trends， and much more。 They are data-dense without being data-burdensome; even those who are not "numbers people" can still follow along and take the overall point without worrying too much about the details。Yes， some of these snippets will make for great cocktail conversation （"Ireland's GDP per capita is now over 50% higher than that of the UK！"; "For the first time ever， people in Italy are drinking as much beer as they are drinking wine！"）， but， even more importantly， they provide a blueprint for how to incorporate the best available data when advocating for or against given positions。Although the title is a bit unfortunate （many readers will think of "lies， damn lies， and statistics"）， Smil does not assert that data analytics is inherently disinterested or neutral， but rather that sincerely following the data can lead to better understanding and better outcomes。Note: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more

Raphael Leiteritz ，

I give this 3。5 stars。 Vaclav Smil is a great science writer in general （and I learned a lot by his use of energy as a lens to see the world）， but this specific book felt a bit disconnected and superficial to me。I would much rather recommend https://www。goodreads。com/book/show/3。。。 instead if you've never read one of his books。 I give this 3。5 stars。 Vaclav Smil is a great science writer in general （and I learned a lot by his use of energy as a lens to see the world）， but this specific book felt a bit disconnected and superficial to me。I would much rather recommend https://www。goodreads。com/book/show/3。。。 instead if you've never read one of his books。 。。。more

Ramon ，

Un libro curioso que lo que nos da son 71 historias donde los números nos demuestran muchos sesgos de información que adoptamos sin conocimiento alguno， muchas curiosidades y en algunos casos nos demuestran cómo esta evolucionando el mundo y sus orígenes。Esta bien pero al ser historias más o menos sin ninguna relación， hay una falta total de integración narrativa。 El libro se lee de forma independiente cada 3 páginas lo que lo hace inmensamente agradecido de leer entre libros solo con leerse un Un libro curioso que lo que nos da son 71 historias donde los números nos demuestran muchos sesgos de información que adoptamos sin conocimiento alguno， muchas curiosidades y en algunos casos nos demuestran cómo esta evolucionando el mundo y sus orígenes。Esta bien pero al ser historias más o menos sin ninguna relación， hay una falta total de integración narrativa。 El libro se lee de forma independiente cada 3 páginas lo que lo hace inmensamente agradecido de leer entre libros solo con leerse un para o 3 de historias cada dia te lo lees sin darte cuenta。 Algunas curiosidades que he anotado: La mejora manera de evaluar la calidad de vida de un país es el indicador de la Mortalidad Infantil。 La repoblación de una sociedad requiere de un índice de natalidad de 2。1。 El producto con mayor retorno de la inversión es la vacunación。 Contabilizando directos e indirectos El principal factor del incremento de la altura de la población es el consumo de leche Hasta 1900 la edad media de vida era de unos 40 años en 100 años se ha duplicado en los países ricos。 Y puede que lleguemos a 125 años en los próximos 100 años。 Lo que ha hecho posible que el ser humano controle el mundo no es su inteligencia sino su forma de respirar y más importante su capacidad extraordinaria para regular la temperatura corporal mediante el sudor。 Para construir las pirámides de Egipto se necesitaron un equipo de 10。000 personas de forma constantes， durante el periodo de construcción。 Para ser felices o estás en los 10 países más ricos del mundo o te conviene ser católico y hablar castellano。 Estados Unidos es de materia notoria， el único país rico moderno sin sanidad universal。 El aporte de la unión Europea es con creces muy superior a sus problemas。 El Brexit no cambiará nada， El Reino Unido es ya una nación envejecida y desindustrializada y agotada cuyo PIB es ligeramente superior a la mitad del Irlandés。 Cada imperio está durando menos que los anteriores， el ritmo de evolución de países dominantes se reduce en cada nuevo ciclo。 El diesel sigue siendo el motor más eficiente que existe y de combustión。 La Ley de Moore solo se aplica a transistores y pocos sistemas。 Mayoría de tecnología crece a ritmos de 2% anual o menos。 Rendimiento del Maíz， del arroz， de los turbogeneradores， los lumens por vatios， la velocidad de los viajes intercontinentales， el coste energético de la fabricación del acero。 La sociedades modernas están obsesionadas con la innovación。 Existen cantidades ingentes de fracasos importantes en aventuras sobre innovación。 El PIB es solo un Indicador y también crece cuando hay más deforestación， pérdida de biodiversidad o incluso cuando a las personas y el medioambiente les va mal。 Por desgracia aunque esperamos que una turbina eólica sea muy ecológica， su fabricación， transporte， colocación requiere grandes inversiones en combustible fósiles。 Sin una mejora en las baterías eléctricas en su potencia y capacidad no será posible renunciar a los combustibles fósiles que se requieren para mover los grandes buques de carga por los océanos。 Los motores de combustión son incluso anteriores al invento de la bicicleta。 Actualmente un coche de gama media es más caro por calidad de vida que el Modelo T que fabricó Ford con enorme éxito。Aún así no es el coche con más unidades fabricadas 。 El coche más fabricado de la historia fue el Volkswagen Escarabajo con 21。429。464 unidades。 El Modelo T 15 millones。 Existe un enorme coste medioambiental en la fabricación de coches eléctricos que no está explicando。 La probabilidad media de morir al volar es de apenas 5 milésimas adicionales al mero riesgo de estar vivos。En cambio el riesgo aumenta considerablemente al visitar una habitación de hospital por la mayor exposición a bacterias y virus。 La síntesis de amoniaco en todo el mundo y la subsiguiente producción， distribución y aplicación de fertilizantes nitrogenados sólidos y líquidos son ahora responsables de alrededor del 1 por ciento de las emisiones globales de gases de efecto invernadero。 EUA desperdicia el 40% de los alimentos lo que representa el 10% de las emisiones de gases。 El pollo es el animal con mayor capacidad de traducir pienso en peso comestible con un 15% por delante del vacuno con un 4% La longevidad se asocia a un consumo moderado de carne。 La diversidad de artefactos es superior en órdenes de magnitud que las especies vivas。 La biomasa global está conformado por personas y vacunos siendo los vacunos casi el doble de biomasa que los seres humanos。 La producción de cemento corresponde al 5% de emisiones， Teniendo en cuenta la tasa de reposición es peor para el medio ambiente el teléfono móvil que los coches。 El 40% del consumo eléctricos se gasta en calefactar casas。 Una mejora sustancial en las normativas de fabricación de ventanas con triple cristal y aislamientos harían más por el medio-ambiente que muchos artificios tecnológicos difíciles de conseguir。 Los cuatro pilares de la civilización moderna son : amoníaco， acero， cemento， plástico。 。。。more

Nadvornix ，

Serie of very good quantitative blogposts。 But without structure together。

David Wineberg ，

Numbers Don’t Lie is an absolute delight for a reader like me。 Vaclav Smil takes an engineer’s approach to dozens of everyday issues and shows how they work – or don’t – by the numbers。 If we looked at more things this way， we would be dramatically better off。The book is a collection of very short articles Smil wrote for an IEEE magazine。 He has grouped them into categories like home， transport， energy and so on， so readers can explore the “well what about…” alternatives。 This is the book that p Numbers Don’t Lie is an absolute delight for a reader like me。 Vaclav Smil takes an engineer’s approach to dozens of everyday issues and shows how they work – or don’t – by the numbers。 If we looked at more things this way， we would be dramatically better off。The book is a collection of very short articles Smil wrote for an IEEE magazine。 He has grouped them into categories like home， transport， energy and so on， so readers can explore the “well what about…” alternatives。 This is the book that proves/disproves what people routinely toss off as factual。 It is an air-clearer of real use to all and sundry。And it’s entertaining。 Along the way， Smil interjects the occasional plea for sanity， such as simply improving home insulation rather than trying to invent sic-fi geo-engineering brainstorms， which are at best unproven and at worst dangerous。 But always technologically difficult and impossibly expensive。Take education， for an example of disproving by the numbers。 Smil says “Politicians may look far and wide for evidence of American exceptionalism， but they won’t find it in the numbers， where it matters。” In 2018， he says， the OECD test results showed American 15 year olds reading below those in Russia， Slovakia and Spain。 In science， they ranked below the mean， and in reading， just two points above average， far from the top where Americans think they routinely place。The stats also say Americans are more likely to die within a year of birth， live shorter lives and be less likely to learn。 One of my favorite OECD stats， which Smil missed， is that American teens lead in just one category – self-esteem。 They too think they’re all exceptional。He can also take a fun side trip。 He lauds the 1880s as a time of great innovation， something we never think about。 The 1880s saw a bunch inventions and product launches that we still employ today: Quaker Oats， light rail， bicycles， the Wall Street Journal， revolving doors， elevators， cash registers， Coca Cola， vending machines， ballpoint pens， and Aunt Jemima Pancake Mix， no matter what they intend calling it going forward。It’s not all encompassing， however。 Smil’s paean to the diesel engine is all about how efficient it is， how powerful， how its fuel is closer to raw and therefore less expensive， and on and on。 But he totally neglects to mention that diesel exhaust is a listed carcinogen， dirtying the atmosphere far beyond its share of an already terrible situation。In writing about energy， Smil cites nuclear fusion as “the most notorious example of an ever-receding innovative achievement。 “ It is always the next big thing in clean， economical nuclear power， and like Donald Trump’s healthcare plan， is always just around the corner。 Watch for it， you’ll see。 But it never comes。 I very much appreciate the common sense he exhibits repeatedly throughout。 He says we know airplane boarding does not work， but we “persist in proven failures”。 We could board planes from the front and the back， we could abolish reserved seating or implement a pyramid system。 Why not just fix boarding instead of dreaming of hyperloop trains， he asks。He questions economic stats and forecasts。 He says GDP “rises not only when lives get better and economies progress， but also when bad things happen to people or the environment。 Higher alcohol sales， more driving under the influence， more accidents， more emergency room admissions， more injuries， more people in jail – GDP goes up。 More illegal logging in the tropics， more deforestation and biodiversity loss， higher timber sales – again， GDP goes up。 We know better， but we still worship high annual GDP growth rate， regardless of where it comes from。” In addition to all the things GDP gets wrong， the whole concept is misleadingly pointless by the numbers。But then， there are times when Smil gets carried away， to the point where most readers will not be able to fathom what he’s writing about: “Under photopic conditions （that is， under bright light， which allows color perception）， the luminous efficacy of visible light peaks at 683 lm/W at a wavelength of 555 nanometers。 That’s in the green part of the spectrum – the color that seems， at any given level of power， to be the brightest。” I don’t know how many times I have read that， but I still couldn’t explain it anyone else。 Or to myself。On the other hand， his explanation of the perceptible differences in incandescent vs fluorescent vs LED vs sunlight describes exactly what about each one makes it uncomfortable or acceptable。 Because the differences are measurable。 Fluorescents are low pressure and produce only monochromatic yellow （they are too blue）， so they aren’t used in homes。 LEDs produce light for three to four hours a day for 20 years， a huge savings over incandescent bulbs， but “they still can’t match natural light’s spectrum。” Too much in the blue range， not enough in the red。 Incandescent lights gave out too little blue， fluorescents too little red。 “They don’t please the eye。” Sunlight wins top place， hands down and as yet unmatched。 He points out that a lumen of electric light costs 1/2500th of what it cost in early in the 20th century。 So lights are everywhere， and far brighter than they have ever been。Smil tackles fear of flying with stats from 2017， when he says he spent more than 100 hours in large jets。 He says the four airlines that flew him had their last fatal accidents in 1983， 1993， 1997 and 2000。 Who looks up stats like that？ You are safer in the air than in an American hospital， he says， where deaths from viruses， bacteria and errors are increasing （to the point where the healthcare system is the second biggest cause of death in the USA）。 His advice to all: keep flying and avoid hospitals。As to food， who but an engineer could come up with this analysis？ Meat production breaks out as pork ， 40%， chicken 37% and beef 23%。 Their total was 300 million tons in 2018。 But beef is by far the most expensive to get to market。 It takes 11，0000 liters of water to produce one pound of beef。 60% of all crops go to raising beef。 Horribly inefficient and wasteful。 What if， he says， we adjust the mix to 40% pork， 50% chicken and 10% beef？ We would then have 30% more chicken， 20% more pork， while halving the environmental burden。 Yet total tonnage would then actually rise to 350 million tons， feeding far more people。 This is doable and desirable。 Just change the government incentives。Disclosure: I freely admit I am predisposed to like this book， for a couple of reasons。 One， I had a mentor who like Smil， was also a Czech refugee， also a scientist/engineer， also living in Canada。 He， like Smil， not only taught me to look at the figures behind the “facts”， but assemble them properly to understand their context。 He became my closest friend for a good two decades， and I helped him publicize a number of causes to promote the truth against the myths and outright lies。 But where Smil became a professor emeritus and has published 40 books， Bohumil Jerabek earned himself a deck of patents on everything from vacuum cleaners to chainsaws， and had a lab so well equipped that engineers from the National Research Council came to play at his house on weekends。 He would have loved this book，roared in laughter at many of the claims that are so true， and had he known Smil， they would have been best friends forever。Two， Numbers Don’t Lie is very much like my own book， The Straight Dope， or what I learned from my first thousand nonfiction reviews。 I too assembled a book around topics so it was more than just miscellaneous trivia。 I too assembled it from reviews I had published over a ten year period。 I too dragged the salient facts into the spotlight to promote knowledge beyond the rumors。 And I too made it easy to read and digest in bite-sized chunks that stir the brainwaves。So in my mind， the fast-reading and fun Numbers Don’t Lie is a wonderful experience that provides something for everyone。David Wineberg 。。。more

Kinga ，

Vaclav Smil has a way of taking complex data and making it accessible and easy-to-read。 These articles are short and focused on a specific question or idea， and they contain a lot of information。 Smil talks repeatedly about the inability to decrease our dependence on fossil fuels and he brings up our need to switch to a more plant-based diet a few times。 He is aware of the impact our actions have on the globe perhaps and is able to explain this in a simplified manner， but does not resort to scar Vaclav Smil has a way of taking complex data and making it accessible and easy-to-read。 These articles are short and focused on a specific question or idea， and they contain a lot of information。 Smil talks repeatedly about the inability to decrease our dependence on fossil fuels and he brings up our need to switch to a more plant-based diet a few times。 He is aware of the impact our actions have on the globe perhaps and is able to explain this in a simplified manner， but does not resort to scaring the reader; his duty is to inform。 I learned quite a few things from this book including the fact that China has emplaced more concrete in the last two years than the US did in the whole of the 20th century。 That one will stay with me for a while！ 。。。more

Jorien ，

I am hesitating between 4 and 5 stars。 This book really made me realise I don't know that much about the world。 It also made me less optimistic about the future。 So I learned a lot （like the world most important stuff if ammonia， steel， cement and plastics） but I lost some as well （my believe in green energy）。 I am hesitating between 4 and 5 stars。 This book really made me realise I don't know that much about the world。 It also made me less optimistic about the future。 So I learned a lot （like the world most important stuff if ammonia， steel， cement and plastics） but I lost some as well （my believe in green energy）。 。。。more

Axel ，

i was only interested in like half of the essays， but thankfully each essay was brief so i managed to finish it“Numbers may not lie， but which truth do they convey？ In this book I have tried to show that we often have to look both deeper and wider。 Even fairly reliable—indeed， even impeccably accurate—numbers need to be seen in wider contexts。 An informed judging of absolute values requires some relative， comparative perspectives。”

Emil Ellefsen ，

Hans Rosling for grown-ups。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Numbers Don't Lie: 71 Things You Need to Know About the World

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Numbers Don't Lie: 71 Things You Need to Know About the World&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Numbers Don't Lie: 71 Things You Need to Know About the World&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0