NEWS...STOP!


Rolf Dobelli (2019). Stop Reading the News: 

                                 A Manifesto for a Happier, Calmer 

                                and Wiser Life 


Dobelli has a PhD in business administration and philosophy from the University of St. Gallen, has worked in business, founded Get Abstract (book summaries), was a TV host, and founded World Minds (computer experts).

The book summarizes arguments for STOPPING the CONSUMPTION of NEWS MEDIA to experience more peace, happiness, and wisdom...he recommends using the time you would have spent on the news reading books and talking with people.

Key question: Is there anything in the news that has been helpful for you personally in making an important decision or solving an essential problem in the last 10 years?

summary of arguments...THE NEWS...

  • is irrelevant--it doesn't pertain to our personal lives or circle of competence--agreed
  • is designed to get our attention with ads and draw us into consumerism--agreed
  • creates cognitive overload & has high switching costs moving between hyperlinks, images, violence--agreed
  • presents isolated dots (facts) without connecting them--agreed
  • creates a negativity bias...toxic psychologically and physiologically (stress)--agreed
  • contains 120 cognitive errors (e.g., confirmation bias, hindsight, availability...)--don't know about all 120, but agree for the most part
  • inhibits creative thought, rewires the brain to scan and not process deeply--agreed
  • creates fake fame--celebrities by popularity instead of by achievement--agreed
  • focuses on extreme success/beauty, then we compare and feel small/inadequate-agreed
  • encourages terrorism--sometimes
  • destroys peace of mind--agreed
  •  is a waste of time--on average 1 month of a year is spent on news media!


practices:

if you need to read news, read something like the Economist feature "The world this week"

what to do instead of read/watch the news:

spend more time reading books, read 20pps, if no good, pitch it, if good read it to the end, and then a 2nd time immediately after

have lunch with someone and trade cool ideas



 

 



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