Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think

Beware of “The Majority”
When someone says that a majority of a group has some property it can sound
like most of them have something in common. Remember that 
majority
just
means more than half. It could mean 51 percent. It could mean 99 percent. If
possible, ask for the percentage.
For example, here’s a fact: In all countries in the world, a majority of
women say their needs for contraceptives are met. What does that tell us?
Does it mean nearly everyone? Or does it mean a little over half? The reality

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differs widely from one country to another. In China and France, an
impressive 96 percent of women say their needs for contraception are being
met. Just below that, at 94 percent, are the United Kingdom, South Korea,
Thailand, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Norway, Iran, and Turkey. But in Haiti and
Liberia, “the majority” means just 69 percent, and in Angola it means only
63 percent.
Beware of Exceptional Examples
Beware of exceptional examples used to make a point about a whole group.
Chemophobia, the fear of chemicals, is driven by generalizations from a few
vivid but exceptional examples of harmful substances. Some people become
frightened of all “chemicals.” But remember that everything is made from
chemicals, all “natural” things and all industrial products. Here are some of
my favorites that I would rather not live without: soap, cement, plastic,
washing detergent, toilet paper, and antibiotics. If someone offers you a single
example and wants to draw conclusions about a group, ask for more
examples. Or flip it over: i.e., ask whether an opposite example would make
you draw the opposite conclusion. If you are happy to conclude that all
chemicals are unsafe on the basis of one unsafe chemical, would you be
prepared to conclude that all chemicals are safe on the basis of one safe
chemical?