Why We Should Watch Less News • Hacker News Board

Re: Why We Should Watch Less News

#41

Post by 75dvtwin » Thu, Aug 30, 2018, 5:43 PM UTC

abhiminator wrote: post #19

I recall reading and saving (in my Instapaper) a super relevant essay[0] written by a Swiss entrepreneur/author -- Rolf Dobelli -- that talks about how news systematically alters your 'risk-map' of the world, thus making you worry about things that'll almost never affect you while distracting you from things that actually might; as an example, the author talks about how terrorism is overrated and chronic stress is un…

thank you for sharing.

I have to do this. Have to go on a news diet.

It seems like every time I read political news, I must get out of my keto diet, and consume some sugar. Then my energy goes down, and I cannot concentrate as well, and then my productivity and focus disappear. And my weight, starts climbing back up...

Unfortunately, I guess, the posts on this forum are often quite political, and that makes it difficult to stay indifferent/to contain desire to argue back.

I am finding, topics on lobste.rs are more technical, and without the catchy headlines. So it makes it much more consumable, and in line with my routines.

I would also wish that the headlines stop being that 'screaming/misleading' as they are now.

Re: Why We Should Watch Less News

#42

Post by lifeformed » Thu, Aug 30, 2018, 5:45 PM UTC

abhiminator wrote: post #19

I recall reading and saving (in my Instapaper) a super relevant essay[0] written by a Swiss entrepreneur/author -- Rolf Dobelli -- that talks about how news systematically alters your 'risk-map' of the world, thus making you worry about things that'll almost never affect you while distracting you from things that actually might; as an example, the author talks about how terrorism is overrated and chronic stress is un…

Are there any good sources of daily curated news? I'd like to read a condensed version of important news without all the emotional manipulation. I would pay money for that.

Re: Why We Should Watch Less News

#43

Post by beat » Thu, Aug 30, 2018, 5:45 PM UTC

adiusmus wrote: post #31

beat wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most news is designed to sell you cars and laundry detergent. More to the point, you're not the customer. You're the product. Advertisers are the customer. So the news isn't really meant to inform, but rather to encourage sticking around to see what happens next. Appeal to baser emotions works well for that. Think of it that way, and people asking for cute kitten pics online because they're having a bad day is functi…

That’s pretty much every website that has ads on it. I’ve used internal timesheeting sites that had ads!

Yes, it's true of websites. But it's also true of tv/cable news, talk radio, and newspapers.

Re: Why We Should Watch Less News

#44

Post by dingaling » Thu, Aug 30, 2018, 5:46 PM UTC

asdkhadsj wrote: post #34

abhiminator wrote: post #19

I recall reading and saving (in my Instapaper) a super relevant essay[0] written by a Swiss entrepreneur/author -- Rolf Dobelli -- that talks about how news systematically alters your 'risk-map' of the world, thus making you worry about things that'll almost never affect you while distracting you from things that actually might; as an example, the author talks about how terrorism is overrated and chronic stress is un…

> He suggests going on a news diet by mindfully curating the news content one plans on consuming, and thinking about its relevance to everyday life I've actually wanted to do this for multiple things too. Ie, I want to spend ~15m a day getting a curated list on various topics that interest me. From tech, programming, etc. I don't want to feel I'm "missing" anything. My desire stems from not wanting to miss tech relat…

Don't overlook hyperlocal news; what's happening in your community. Even 'boring' things like reviewing planning applications have brought me closer to the other people in my town.

It's very easy, particularly as dormitory commuters, to know more about what's happening elsewhere in the World than on our own doorsteps.

I feel a lot happier that I don't know much what's happening in London, 400km away, but I'm making a difference 400m away.

Re: Why We Should Watch Less News

#45

Post by beat » Thu, Aug 30, 2018, 5:51 PM UTC

drblast wrote: post #40

I grew up in a very conservative household in the U.S. and when Bill Clinton was elected I watched my mother descend into a pit of anger, fueled by her constant attention to Rush Limbaugh and cable news. Her fixation on the Clinton presidency and news related to it was all-consuming. The sad thing was that she felt like she was making a difference and was actively engaged in the political process, much the same way t…

Trump is interesting in that he's kind of a product of modern media-fueled outrage. Sometimes I call him President Clickbait. He says and does a lot of things because they are provocative and travel well. Both his lovers and his haters pay extraordinary attention to him.

Makes me dread what the next president will be like.

Re: Why We Should Watch Less News

#46

Post by abhiminator » Thu, Aug 30, 2018, 5:52 PM UTC

lifeformed wrote: post #42

abhiminator wrote: post #19

I recall reading and saving (in my Instapaper) a super relevant essay[0] written by a Swiss entrepreneur/author -- Rolf Dobelli -- that talks about how news systematically alters your 'risk-map' of the world, thus making you worry about things that'll almost never affect you while distracting you from things that actually might; as an example, the author talks about how terrorism is overrated and chronic stress is un…

Are there any good sources of daily curated news? I'd like to read a condensed version of important news without all the emotional manipulation. I would pay money for that.

I find The Economist's weekly brief super useful (the author talks about this as well). Aside from that I find Reuters' coverage pretty unbiased and objective, though I don't think 'curated' would be the right term to use in Reuters' case.

Re: Why We Should Watch Less News

#47

Post by reificator » Thu, Aug 30, 2018, 5:52 PM UTC

stevenwoo wrote: post #36

asdkhadsj wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> He suggests going on a news diet by mindfully curating the news content one plans on consuming, and thinking about its relevance to everyday life I've actually wanted to do this for multiple things too. Ie, I want to spend ~15m a day getting a curated list on various topics that interest me. From tech, programming, etc. I don't want to feel I'm "missing" anything. My desire stems from not wanting to miss tech relat…

I built a tiny link web app for myself and it just shows me the last time I visited a website and how many times a day I visit it and this is enough to make me stop visiting some places too many times a day/week. Of course this depends on using the web app for visiting your most frequently visited sites.

If you've got the skills for that, you could probably convert it to a web extension that tracks when you type into the URL bar or follow a link as well.

Re: Why We Should Watch Less News

#48

Post by beat » Thu, Aug 30, 2018, 5:59 PM UTC

minikites wrote: post #32

>Novels. Non-fiction. Memoirs. Biographies. Self-Help and the Classics. Just about anything bound between two covers will teach you something more than the latest headlines — and will do far more in regards to settling your soul. This is an awfully privileged point of view and you may want to examine your own privileges to think about why that might be. Example: I'm willing to bet the author and many people reading t…

Being fully conscious of privilege issues here... your comment sounds like Outrage Addiction to me.

Yes, aware of problems with vote access. But those problems are fundamentally legislative, and won't be solved by treating the symptoms. Go to a state with sensible voting laws (my beloved Minnesota), and the system is immune, thanks to same day registration and provisional ballots. Even a concerted purge effort would crash against the well-designed system. These short-term election issues are a product of fundamentally bad design. Focus on fixing the design, not "protest".

Moreover - and speaking of privileged perspective - there is nothing that says you can't pay attention to the news and read novels, memoirs, self-help books, and of course the classics. There is no plausible political situation where you can't squeeze an hour a day off your Twitter feed in order to spend it reading, say, American Nations, or The Cooking Gene, and learn some of the historical roots behind the news that's ruining your blood pressure today.

There's a real distinction between urgent and important. I can recommend multiple good books on exactly that.

Re: Why We Should Watch Less News

#49

Post by Sea_Wulf » Thu, Aug 30, 2018, 6:00 PM UTC

> "Two thousand years ago, Marcus Aurelius wrote in his Meditations, 'Are you distracted by breaking news? Then take some leisure time to learn something good, and stop bouncing around.'"

Probably a minor quibble, as I do agree with the thesis to some degree, but the quote from Marcus Aurelius is utterly false. There is no such quote in Meditations at all[0], though Aurelius is a huge proponent of moving away from external distractions to concentrate on building yourself up.

Indeed, he would probably agree with the article ("make time for yourself to learn something worthwhile; stop letting yourself be pulled in all directions" (Book 2:7)), but would rail against putting in a false statement ("The human soul degrades itself... when it puts on a mask and does or says something artificial or false." (Book 2:16)

[0] http://seinfeld.co/library/meditations.pdf

Re: Why We Should Watch Less News

#50

Post by fredsir » Thu, Aug 30, 2018, 6:02 PM UTC

abhiminator wrote: post #46

lifeformed wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are there any good sources of daily curated news? I'd like to read a condensed version of important news without all the emotional manipulation. I would pay money for that.

I find The Economist's weekly brief super useful (the author talks about this as well). Aside from that I find Reuters' coverage pretty unbiased and objective, though I don't think 'curated' would be the right term to use in Reuters' case.

> The Economist's weekly brief

Where do I find this? Googling doesn't lead me to what I expect when I hear "weekly brief", so I suspect I'm looking at the wrong thing, which is http://economist.com/briefings.