Why We Should Watch Less News

Post by tropo » Thu, Aug 30, 2018, 10:01 PM UTC

40acres wrote: post #71

Not sure I agree with this. After the 2016 election I was really wired into news. I watched a lot of CNN and was tuned in the 24 hour news cycle, after a couple of months I decided I didn't really like the way this news was delivered but still wanted to be informed. I turned to podcasts more and now listen to podcasts on policy, politics, technology and economics and I feel much more informed than the average citizen…

Post by untog » Fri, Aug 31, 2018, 1:04 AM 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…

Post by adiusmus » Fri, Aug 31, 2018, 2:37 AM UTC

beat wrote: post #43

adiusmus wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Post by DanielBMarkham » Fri, Aug 31, 2018, 12:20 PM UTC

stlHusker wrote: post #64

DanielBMarkham wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of the funny things I've noticed about reading opinion columns in this format is how often you get these bombastic headlines on both sides of something. "X is bad! The end!" and right afterwards "X is goodness! A new age dawns!" (X may be something like "local pickle farmers protest new holiday". The topic doesn't matter, oddly enough, it's audience size that counts) If you scan the first column, it's very weak.…

"I'm left with opinion on those days that not much of anything has happened regarding X. But folks still need views!" In a strange way it validates how well off we are, particularly in the U.S., that outrage needs to be manufactured in this way. Of course the impacts are extremely negative and no journalist ever gets views or prizes for "hey it is important but society won't collapse and we are pretty well off..." In…

Post by natch » Mon, Sep 03, 2018, 4:37 PM UTC

HSO wrote: post #80

beat wrote: post #6

Recommended reading list thread! What have you read this year that you think others should read as well? Here's a few of mine that really stand out. Factfulness , by Hans Rosling The Ethics of Ambiguity , by Simone de Beauvoir Designing Delivery , by Jeff Sussna (re-read) The Cooking Gene , by Michael Twitty Binti , by Nnedi Okorafor The Philosophy of Spinoza The Silk Roads , by Peter Frankopan

Question, since you listed Rösling's Factfulness : How many points did you get in their little quiz in the intro or ch1, I forget where it was, if you don't mind sharing?