Things are bad, and it feels like they are getting worse, right? War, violence, natural disasters, corruption. The rich are getting richer and the poor are get- ting poorer; and we will soon run out of resources unless something drastic is done. That’s the picture most people in the West see in the media and carry around in their heads. I call it the overdramatic worldview. It’s stressful and misleading. In fact, the vast majority of the world’s population live somewhere in the middle of the income scale. Perhaps they are not what we think of as middle class, but they are not living in extreme poverty. Their girls go to school; their children get vaccinated. Perhaps not on every single measure, or every single year, but step by step, year by year, the world is improving. In the past two cen- turies, life expectancy has more than doubled. Although the world faces huge challenges, we have made tremendous progress. The overdramatic worldview draws people to the most negative answers. It is not caused simply by out-of-date knowledge. My experience, over decades of lecturing and testing, has finally brought me to see that the overdramatic worldview comes from the very way our brains work. The brain is a product of millions of years of evolution, and we are hard-wired with instincts that helped our ancestors to survive in small groups of hunters and gatherers. We crave sugar and fat, which used to be life-saving sources of energy when food was scarce. But today these cravings make obesity one of the biggest global health problems. In the same way, we are interested in gossip and dramatic stories, which used to be the only source of news and useful infor- mation. This craving for drama causes misconceptions and helps create an overdramatic worldview. We still need these dramatic instincts to give meaning to our world. If we sifted every piece of information and analysed every decision ration- ally, a normal life would be impossible. Just as we should not cut out all sugar and fat, we should not ask a surgeon to remove the parts of our brain that deal with emotions. But we need to learn to control our drama intake. Our instinct to notice the bad more than the good is related to three things: the misremembering of the past; selective reporting by journalists and activists; and the feeling that as long as things are bad, it’s heartless to say they are getting better. For centuries, older people have romanticised their youths and insisted that things are not what they used to be. Well, that’s true. Most things used to be worse. This tendency to misremember is compounded by the never-ending negative news from across the world. Remember that the media and activists rely on drama to grab your at- tention; that negative stories are more dramatic than positive ones; and how simple it is to construct a story of crisis from a temporary dip pulled out of its context of a long-term improvement. When you hear about something terrible, calm yourself by asking: if there had been a positive improvement, would I have heard about that? Even if there had been hundreds of larger improvements, would I have heard?This is “factfulness”: understanding as a source of mental peace. Like a healthy diet and regular exercise, it can and should become part of people’s daily lives. Start to practise it, and you will make better decisions, stay alert to real dangers and possibilities, and avoid being constantly stressed about the wrong things. *1 Which of these is NOT related to the overdramatic worldview?1) Shocking news on TV. 2) Dramatic TV stories. 3) Fast delivery of the latest news. 4) Impressive information transmitted by mass media. Ответ:2 Which of these shows the author’s optimistic attitude?1) The world faces huge challenges. 2) The life in the world is improving. 3) Extreme poverty is seen only in some regions. 4) Vaccination is a very important step. Ответ:3 According to the author, people tend to create an overdramatic worldview because. . . 1) people had to survive in small groups of hunters and gatherers in the past. 2) rumours were the only source of information in the past. 3) people depended on the information in the past. 4) people tried to overcome misconceptions in the past. Ответ:4 According to the author, people need these dramatic instincts but . . . 1) the reception of information should be under control. 2) every decision should be analysed rationally. 3) it will be impossible to have a normal life. 4) removing the parts of the brain that deal with emotions will benecessary. Ответ:5 Which of these does NOT explain people’s instinct to notice thebad more than the good?1) Thefeelingthataslongasthingsarebad,it’sheartlesstosaythey are getting better. 2) Piecesofnewsarechosenintentionallybyreportersandleaders. 3) The desire to focus people’s attention on problems. 4) People fail to recall the past correctly.