The Economist and I

On previous occasions when I have been abroad I have found myself with some extra time on my hands, which I have used to among other things sink deep into my favourite newspaper, The Economist.

Sadly, my subscription is to a mail-box which I have not had access to for the last month so I have started reminiscing about wonderful pieces I read before (clearly a sign that I am addicted to this paper-based “mind expanding substance”).

This might sound strange but I still remember how stunned I was when I saw this graph:

To quote from the article

In an article in Science magazine in May 2002, the two demographers argued that the four-decade increase in life expectancy since 1840 is so linear that it “may be the most remarkable regularity of mass endeavour ever observed”.

I also remember when I read this:

People in very poor countries are, on average, less intelligent than those in rich ones. Some readers may be shocked by this statement, so let's rephrase it.

Some 800m people do not have enough to eat. Without proper nutrition, the human body cannot develop properly. That includes the brain. Those who are ill-fed tend to end up both physically shorter and less mentally agile than they otherwise would have been. Hunger also spurs millions of children to drop out of school in order to scavenge for food, and those who manage to attend school despite empty bellies find it excruciatingly hard to concentrate.

Few papers would be so bold in their choice of words.