The astrolabe, magnificent computer of the ancients (via Pinterest and t-s-k-b.tumbler.com).

The latest from Bill Gates:

‘This month, leaders from around the world will get together at the UN to agree on the world’s development agenda for the next 15 years—what they’re calling the Global Goals. It is a great opportunity to take stock of how the world’s poorest are doing, and there is a big push to spread the word about the Global Goals.

‘Why should we believe these goals will make any difference at all? Because the world has already done something like this, and with great success.

‘Fifteen years ago, world leaders adopted the Millennium Development Goals. It was one of the best ideas for improving lives that I’ve ever seen. The goals focused the world’s attention on disease and poverty, and by using data to measure progress, we could see which countries were succeeding and which were falling behind.

‘On many measures, people around the world are better off today than they were 15 years ago—for example the fraction of the world’s population living in extreme poverty has dropped by half since 1990—and the MDGs played a key role in driving these improvements.

‘No one understands the data better than Chris Murray. Chris is a brilliant guy who runs the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington in my hometown of Seattle. . . .

The link below will take you to three brief (1-minute) videos by Chris Murray explaining where we are with Millennium Development Goals battling three different kinds of mortalities: 4—child, 5—maternal and 6—HIV.

And if you want to know Why saving the world’s poorest children is vital for curbing unsustainable global population growth, check out this short video (4 minutes) by Hans Rosling, medical doctor, statistician, professor of international health at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute, and inventor of Gapminder.

Read the whole article in Gates Notes by Bill Gates: Three videos that explain this month’s big event in New York, 15 Sep 2015.