Mind-blowing visulization of population data

I've been watching TED Talks and Hulu while treadmilling (wireless video inside the house seems more reliable now that we're on Comcast's super-fast Internet service) and randomly chose this talk from the Top 10 list by doctor and researcher Hans Rosling. Bottom line? It's must see TV.

If you are a fan of data visualizations, population trends, government policy, comparisons between countries, or just even mildly curious about changes to our world in the last 30-40 years, prepare to be blown away by this video.

The TEDTalks site blurb has it right: 

You've never seen data presented like this. With the drama and urgency of a sportscaster, statistics guru Hans Rosling debunks myths about the so-called "developing world."

After you've watched the video and are hungry for more, visit Gapminder.org, Dr. Rosling's nonprofit venture to help people create visualizations like the ones you saw in the video.

Genius Idea #2

While I'm thinking about it, here's another example of harnessing the creativity of entrepreneurial-minded people -- in this case MacArthur "genius" grant winner Amy Smith -- to solve problems in the developing world. I heard this one on the way the work last week as I slowly work my way through the astounding podcast archive at the TED site.

This one could help eliminate the leading cause of death in children under 5, which Amy tells us is respiratory disease caused by indoor cooking fires. I was shocked to hear that (I would have guessed malnutrition or maybe water-borne disease). Here's is Genius Amy's solution:

Genius!

I spotted this item on the Google blog yesterday: it's an ingenious answer to one of the developing world's big problems (access to clean water), and the grand prize winner from the Innovate or Die Pedal Powered Machine Challenge.

I love the idea of harnessing entrepreneurial energy to create breakthrough products for the developing world. Check it out: