Bill Gates thinks college graduates shouldn’t neglect learning after leaving school.
He believes it so much, he’s promised to cover the cost of one book for the entire class of 2018.
All U.S. college graduates can download a free copy of Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World—and Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling, which was published this year.
The free download will be available at least through this week from Gates’ blog, Gates Notes. Grads must fill out some basic information, including the name of their affiliated and accredited school to download the e-book.
Rosling, a Swedish statistician and academic who died last year, wrote the book with his son and daughter-in-law. The book delves into human tendency to incorrectly guess global trends and lays out several human instincts that cause such a distortion in perspective.
“Although I think everyone should read it,” Gates writes, “it has especially useful insights for anyone who’s making the leap out of college and into the next phase of life.”
He concludes by sharing a quote from Rosling himself: “When we have a fact-based worldview, we can see that the world is not as bad as it seems—and we can see what we have to do to keep making it better,” adding in his own words, “I agree. My wish for you at this special time is to learn to think, and act, factfully.”
Last year, Gates recommended The Better Angels of Our Nature: A History of Violence and Humanity by Steven Pinker.
