OT: The Great Peace

This is off topic but too good not to share. When I was on vacation in August, I read the book The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence has Declined by Steven Pinker. With 9/11 and recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as (seemingly) rising violent crime in some cities, the assertion that violence is declining seemed specious. Yet, the book is so good and so provocative -- and the data overwhelming -- that my glasses have had a rose tint to them the past few weeks.

So last week in Lafayette, Joe Minicozzi -- always on the hunt for ways to display information -- shared this video with me. It's really good and worth your time. When we got to the end, I was telling Joe about the Pinker book when we discovered that this video is based on it. So consider it a preview of a book you should read.

For the interactive version, ticket payments, and more: http://fallen.io An animated data-driven documentary about war and peace, The Fallen of World War II looks at the human cost of the second World War and sizes up the numbers to other wars in history, including trends in recent conflicts. Written, directed, coded, narrated by https://twitter.com/neilhalloran Sound and music by https://twitter.com/Dolhaz

They request a donation of $2.50 for watching the movie. I paid and recommend you consider doing so as well. I'd also read the book; time well spent.