BBC World Service Online

The Thought Show

Factual

Brings together in a single hour The Why Factor; More or Less and Trending.

The Thought Show: The Ignorance Test

Factual: Life Stories

The Ignorance Test

16/04/2015

BBC World Service - The Thought Show, The Ignorance Test

Professor Hans Rosling tries out his Ignorance Test on Ruth Alexander for More Or Less.

More Or Less features Hans Rosling’s Ignorance Test, BBC Trending charts the impact on social media of police killings of black people and the Why Factor looks at daydreaming.

In More or Less, Professor Hans Rosling - perhaps best described as a kind of international development myth buster – tries out his Ignorance Test on Ruth Alexander. His organisation, Gapminder, uses surveys to ask people simple questions about key-aspects of global development. Most people do badly. Can you do any better than Ruth?

BBC Trending reports on a photo in Saudi Arabia – "the trash boy selfie" – showing a young Saudi Arab posing in front of a dumpster with a small African girl in it. It’s caused outrage on social media, prompting a search for the girl and wealthy Saudi businessmen pledging thousands of dollars to her. And in the US a video emerged this week of a white police officer in South Carolina shooting, and killing, a black man, Walter Scott, who was running away from him. The hashtag #BlackLivesMatter once again trended online and was used to highlight the issue of controversial black killings by US Police. BBC Trending speaks to co-creator of the hashtag, Opal Tometti.

In the Why Factor, Charlotte McDonald explores why we rarely discuss the subject of daydreaming. Freud thought daydreaming was not a useful activity, and many teachers across the world have been heard to say “stop daydreaming” to their pupils. But it seems to have redeeming purposes. Opera singer Noah Stewart explains how he uses daydreaming as a way to prepare himself for the stage.  And Peter Moore, an IT contractor who was held hostage in Iraq, describes how his mind began to fill the emptiness of his days with dreams of escape and comfort.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

The Thought Show

The Ignorance Test

Genres

Brand

BBC World Service Online

About BBC World Service