Another down…

So, I think my project course/short thesis paper is just about done. It needs a little fixing up, but I’m almost ready to email it to my 2nd reader.

Inequality + economic growth + human development + Guatemala = 24 pages of fun.

Except, even though it’s done, I’m not actually finished with it. I have to make a powerpoint presentation and present it to a bunch of people who have nothing else to do on Thursday morning. It’ll be the last presentation of my academic career (until I go back to school at some unknown time in the future). Thank God.

And now, I have 2 more papers (and a powerpoint) left. I hope to finish my memo on Federal hate crimes legislation tonight so I can devote the rest of my energy to Brazilian inequality and fun powerpoint presentations.

Oh - and I still have class today and tomorrow… wtf.

 

who loves international development?

I love TED. And I love Hans Rosling. I really appreciate this video because it makes me believe that there are people in this world (besides myself) who understand that you can’t have a one-size-fits-all solution to global issues like extreme poverty. I feel like such a “development nerd” (if there are such people), but Mr. Rosling gave an excellent presentation. The animations in the video were awesome and very easy to understand. It is so important to not only compare countries to each other, in terms of factors like income distribution and life expectancy, you must look within a country as well. The results are surprising. I really liked how he broke down the data so the audience could see the huge variance within African nations. Just because a nation is poor, it doesn’t mean one can cast a “blanket aid solution” over the entire country…

I could go on and on about this stuff. Just watch the video… and if you love it, go to TED for even more awesomely thought-provoking videos.