Preparing for the IELTS test? Here are some graphs for you to practise describing. Alternatively, ever wondered how rich are you? You can use the first two calculators to measure respectively your income compared with British incomes, and your net worth according to the total value of all your assets as it compares with Americans. What do these bar charts tell you? If you value your life based on the worth you derive from the experiences and relationships you share and contributions you give back to the world, then not much at all. In fact, they are just the kind of social-media-friendly interactive quizzes that feed the insecurity and lack of self-worth that afflict many people today. This is because it makes people think they are somehow better or worse than others valued solely on their material wealth, and if one sets their life goals and measures their achievements based purely on money, they will inevitably end up miserable and miserly. It is an undeniably superficial benchmark to consider one’s life worth by, and relying on it will lead to nothing but conceit and envy. The third calculator, on the other hand, offers a different approach in that it shows most people how lucky they really are, and in particular how the measures in the other calculators are somewhat arbitrary when taken in the context of the whole world, and not just relative to other well-off citizens of wealthy nations. It also gives one an insight into how making just a little selfless sacrifice can go a long way to improving the lives of people who are in really dire straits. https://www.theguardian.com/society/datablog/interactive/2012/jun/22/how-wealthy-you-compared https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/12/upshot/are-you-rich-where-does-your-net-worth-rank-wealth.html? |