8olf uobelll (www.dobelll.

com), 2010 age 1

"#$%& '()*
+$),-&* , .(,/012 '()* 3%(0

42 5$/6 3$7(//%




8-$/$9:(
1hls arLlcle ls Lhe anLldoLe Lo news. lL ls long, and
you probably won'L be able Lo sklm lL. 1hanks Lo
heavy news consumpLlon, many people have losL
Lhe readlng hablL and sLruggle Lo absorb more
Lhan four pages sLralghL. 1hls arLlcle wlll show you
how Lo geL ouL of Lhls Lrap - lf you are noL already
Loo deeply ln lL.




'()* %* 0$ 01( ;%<& )1,0 *:9,- %* 0$ 01(
7$&2
We are so well lnformed and yeL we know so llLLle.
Why?
We are ln Lhls sad condlLlon because 200 years
ago we lnvenLed a Loxlc form of knowledge called
news." 1he Llme has come Lo recognlze Lhe
deLrlmenLal effecLs LhaL news has on lndlvlduals
and socleLles, and Lo Lake Lhe necessary sLeps Lo
shleld yourself from lLs dangers.
AL core, human belngs are cavemen ln sulLs and
dresses. Cur bralns are opLlmlzed for our orlglnal
hunLer-gaLherer envlronmenL where we llved ln
small bands of 23 Lo 100 lndlvlduals wlLh llmlLed
sources of food and lnformaLlon. Cur bralns (and
our bodles) now llve ln a world LhaL ls Lhe opposlLe
of whaL we are deslgned Lo handle. 1hls leads Lo
greaL rlsk and Lo lnapproprlaLe, ouLrlghL
dangerous behavlor.
ln Lhe pasL few decades, Lhe forLunaLe among us
have recognlzed Lhe hazards of llvlng wlLh an
overabundance of carbohydraLes (obeslLy,
dlabeLes) and have sLarLed Lo shlfL our dleLs. 8uL
mosL of us do noL yeL undersLand LhaL news ls Lo
Lhe mlnd whaL sugar ls Lo Lhe body. news ls easy
Lo dlgesL. 1he medla feeds us small blLes of Lrlvlal
maLLer, LldblLs LhaL don'L really concern our llves
and don'L requlre Lhlnklng. 1haL's why we
experlence almosL no saLuraLlon. unllke readlng
books and long, deep magazlne arLlcles (whlch
requlres Lhlnklng), we can swallow llmlLless
quanLlLles of news flashes, llke brlghL-colored
candles for Lhe mlnd.
1oday, we have reached Lhe same polnL ln relaLlon
Lo lnformaLlon overload LhaL we faced 20 years
ago ln regard Lo food lnLake. We are beglnnlng Lo
recognlze how Loxlc news can be and we are
learnlng Lo Lake Lhe flrsL sLeps Loward an
lnformaLlon dleL.
1hls ls my aLLempL Lo clarlfy Lhe Loxlc dangers of
news - and Lo recommend some ways Lo deal wlLh
lL. l have now gone wlLhouL news for a year, so l
can see, feel and reporL Lhe effecLs of Lhls freedom
flrsL hand: !"## %&#'()*&+,- .+'" *&."- !"## /,0&"*1-
%"")"' *2&,3&,4- .+'" &,#&42*#. lL's noL easy, buL
lL's worLh lL.


8olf uobelll (www.dobelll.com), 2010 age 2

My good frlend nasslm nlcholas 1aleb, auLhor of
52" 6!/73 89/,, was one of Lhe flrsL people Lo
recognlze news consumpLlon as a serlous problem.
l owe many of Lhe followlng lnslghLs Lo hlm.




'$ = > '()* ;%*/(,&* :* *2*0(;,0%?,//2
news reporLs do noL represenL Lhe real world.
Cur bralns are wlred Lo pay aLLenLlon Lo vlslble,
large, scandalous, sensaLlonal, shocklng, people-
relaLed, sLory-formaLLed, fasL changlng, loud,
graphlc onslaughLs of sLlmull. Cur bralns have
llmlLed aLLenLlon Lo spend on more subLle pleces
of lnLelllgence LhaL are small, absLracL, amblvalenL,
complex, slow Lo develop and quleL, much less
sllenL. news organlzaLlons sysLemaLlcally explolL
Lhls blas.
news medla ouLleLs, by and large, focus on Lhe
hlghly vlslble. 1hey dlsplay whaLever lnformaLlon
Lhey can convey wlLh grlpplng sLorles and lurld
plcLures, and Lhey sysLemaLlcally lgnore Lhe subLle
and lnsldlous, even lf LhaL maLerlal ls more
lmporLanL. news grabs our aLLenLlon, LhaL's how
lLs buslness model works. Lven lf Lhe adverLlslng
model dldn'L exlsL, we would sLlll soak up news
pleces because Lhey are easy Lo dlgesL and
superflclally qulLe LasLy.
1he hlghly vlslble mlsleads us.
1ake Lhe followlng evenL. A car drlves over a
brldge, and Lhe brldge collapses. WhaL does Lhe
news medla focus on? Cn Lhe car. Cn Lhe person
ln Lhe car. Where he came from. Where he
planned Lo go. Pow he experlenced Lhe crash (lf
he survlved). WhaL klnd of person he ls (was). 8uL
- LhaL ls all compleLely lrrelevanL. WhaL's
relevanL? 1he sLrucLural sLablllLy of Lhe brldge.
1haL's Lhe underlylng rlsk LhaL has been lurklng
and could lurk ln oLher brldges. 1haL ls Lhe lesson
Lo be learned from Lhls evenL.
1he car doesn'L maLLer aL all. Any car could have
caused Lhe brldge Lo collapse. lL could have been a
sLrong wlnd or a dog walklng over Lhe brldge. So,
why does Lhe medla cover Lhe car? 8ecause lL's
flashy, lL's dramaLlc, lL's a person (non-absLracL),
and lL's news LhaL's cheap Lo produce.
As a resulL of news, we walk around wlLh Lhe
compleLely 9'+,4 '&#3 ./) ln our heads:
1errorlsm ls overraLed. Chronlc sLress ls
underraLed.
1he collapse of Lehman 8roLhers ls overraLed.
llscal lrresponslblllLy ls underraLed.
AsLronauLs are overraLed. nurses are
underraLed.
8rlLney Spears ls overraLed. lCC reporLs are
underraLed.
Alrplane crashes are overraLed. 8eslsLance Lo
anLlbloLlcs ls underraLed.
We are noL raLlonal enough Lo be exposed Lo Lhe
news-mongerlng press. lL ls a very dangerous
Lhlng, because Lhe probablllsLlc mapplng we geL
from consumlng news ls enLlrely dlfferenL from
Lhe acLual rlsks LhaL we face. WaLchlng an alrplane
crash on Lelevlslon ls golng Lo change your aLLlLude
Loward LhaL rlsk regardless of lLs real probablllLy,
no maLLer your lnLellecLual sophlsLlcaLlon. lf you
Lhlnk you can compensaLe for Lhls blas wlLh Lhe
sLrengLh of your own lnner conLemplaLlon, you are
wrong. 8ankers and economlsLs - who have
powerful lncenLlves Lo compensaLe for news-
borne hazards - have shown LhaL Lhey cannoL. 1he
only soluLlon: cuL yourself off from news
consumpLlon enLlrely.




'$ @ > '()* %* %--(/(#,<0
CuL of Lhe approxlmaLely 10,000 news sLorles you
have read ln Lhe lasL 12 monLhs, name one LhaL -
because you consumed lL - allowed you Lo make a
beLLer declslon abouL a serlous maLLer affecLlng


8olf uobelll (www.dobelll.com), 2010 age 3

your llfe, your career, your buslness - compared Lo
whaL you would have known lf you hadn'L
swallowed LhaL morsel of news.
1he polnL ls: Lhe consumpLlon of news ls lrrelevanL
Lo Lhe forces LhaL really maLLer ln your llfe. AL lLs
besL, lL ls enLerLalnlng, buL lL ls sLlll lrrelevanL.
Assume LhaL, agalnsL all odds, you found one plece
of news LhaL subsLanLlally lncreased Lhe quallLy of
your llfe - compared Lo how your llfe would have
unfolded lf you hadn'L read or seen lL. Pow much
Lrlvla dld your braln have Lo dlgesL Lo geL Lo LhaL
one relevanL nuggeL? Lven LhaL quesLlon ls a
hlndslghL analysls. Looklng forward, we can'L
posslbly ldenLlfy Lhe value of a plece of news
before we see lL, so we are forced Lo dlgesL
everyLhlng on Lhe news buffeL llne. ls LhaL
worLhwhlle? robably noL.
ln 1914, Lhe news sLory abouL Lhe assasslnaLlon ln
Sara[evo dwarfed all oLher reporLs ln Lerms of lLs
global slgnlflcance. 8uL, Lhe murder ln Sara[evo
was [usL one of several Lhousand sLorles ln
clrculaLlon LhaL day. no news organlzaLlon LreaLed
Lhls hlsLorlcally plvoLal homlclde as anyLhlng more
Lhan [usL anoLher pollLlcally lnsplred assasslnaLlon.
1he flrsL lnLerneL browser debuLed ln 1993. 1he
publlc blrLh of Lhls hugely relevanL plece of
sofLware barely made lL lnLo Lhe press desplLe lLs
vasL fuLure lmpacL.
eople flnd lL very dlfflculL Lo recognlze whaL's
'"!";/,*. lL's much easler Lo recognlze whaL's ,"9.
We are noL equlpped wlLh sensory organs for
relevance. 8elevance doesn'L come naLurally.
news does. 1haL's why Lhe medla plays on Lhe
new. (lf our mlnds were sLrucLured Lhe oLher way
round, Lhe medla would cerLalnly play on Lhe
relevanL.) 1he relevanL versus Lhe new ls Lhe
fundamenLal baLLle of Lhe modern man.
news floods you wlLh a worldvlew LhaL ls noL
relevanL Lo your llfe. WhaL does relevance mean?
lL means: whaL ls lmporLanL Lo you personally.
<"!";/,7" &# / )"'#+,/! 72+&7": uon'L Lake Lhe
medla's vlew for lL. 1o Lhe medla, any Lale LhaL
sells loLs of coples ls relevanL - uarfur, arls
PllLon, a Lraln crash ln Chlna, some ldloLlc world
record (llke someone who aLe 78 cheeseburgers ln
an hour). 1hls swlndle ls aL Lhe core of Lhe news
lndusLry's buslness model. lL sells Lhe relevanL, buL
dellvers Lhe new.
Medla organlzaLlons wanL you Lo belleve LhaL
news offers lndlvlduals some sorL of a compeLlLlve
advanLage. Many people fall for LhaL. We geL
anxlous when we're cuL off from Lhe flow of news.
We fear we're mlsslng someLhlng lmporLanL. ln
reallLy, news consumpLlon ls a 7+.)"*&*&;"
%&#/%;/,*/4". 1he less news you consume Lhe
blgger Lhe advanLage you have.
Afrald you wlll mlss someLhlng lmporLanL"? lrom
my experlence, lf someLhlng really lmporLanL
happens, you wlll hear abouL lL, even lf you llve ln
a cocoon LhaL proLecLs you from Lhe news. lrlends
and colleagues wlll Lell you abouL relevanL evenLs
far more rellably Lhan any news organlzaLlon. 1hey
wlll flll you ln wlLh Lhe added beneflL of meLa-
lnformaLlon, slnce Lhey know your prlorlLles and
you know how Lhey Lhlnk. ?ou wlll learn far more
abouL really lmporLanL evenLs and socleLal shlfLs
by readlng abouL Lhem ln speclallzed [ournals, ln-
depLh magazlnes or good books and by Lalklng Lo
Lhe people who know.




'$ A > '()* /%;%0* :<&(-*0,<&%<9
news has no explanaLory power. news lLems are
llLLle bubbles popplng on Lhe surface of a deeper
world.
news organlzaLlons prlde Lhemselves on correcLly
reporLlng Lhe facLs, buL Lhe facLs LhaL Lhey prlze
are [usL eplphenomena of deeper causes. 8oLh
news organlzaLlons and news consumers mlsLake
knowlng a llLany of facLs for undersLandlng Lhe
world.
lL's noL news facLs" LhaL are lmporLanL, buL Lhe
Lhreads LhaL connecL Lhem. WhaL we really wanL ls


8olf uobelll (www.dobelll.com), 2010 age 4

Lo (,%"'#*/,% *2" (,%"'!1&,4 )'+7"##"#, how
Lhlngs happen. unforLunaLely, precarlously few
news organlzaLlons manage Lo explaln causaLlon
because Lhe underlylng processes LhaL govern
slgnlflcanL soclal, pollLlcal and envlronmenLal
movemenLs mosLly are lnvlslble. 1hey are
complex, non-llnear and hard for our (and Lhe
[ournallsLs') bralns Lo dlgesL. Why do news
organlzaLlons go for Lhe llghL sLuff, Lhe anecdoLes,
scandals, people-sLorles and plcLures? 1he answer
ls slmple: because Lhey are cheap Lo produce.
1he lmporLanL sLorles are non-sLorles: slow,
powerful movemenLs LhaL develop below Lhe
[ournallsLs' radar buL have a Lransformlng effecL.
MosL people belleve LhaL havlng more lnformaLlon
helps Lhem make beLLer declslons. news
organlzaLlons supporL Lhls bellef. Pell, lL's ln Lhelr
lnLeresL. Wlll accumulaLlng facLs help you
undersLand Lhe world? Sadly, no. 1he relaLlonshlp
ls acLually lnverLed. 1he more news facLolds" you
dlgesL, Lhe less of Lhe blg plcLure you wlll
undersLand.
no evldence exlsLs Lo lndlcaLe LhaL lnformaLlon
[unkles are beLLer declslon makers. 1hey are
cerLalnly noL more successful Lhan Lhe average
!oe. lf more lnformaLlon leads Lo hlgher economlc
success, we would expecL [ournallsLs Lo be aL Lhe
Lop of Lhe pyramld. 1haL's noL Lhe case. CulLe Lhe
conLrary. We don'L know whaL makes people
successful, buL amasslng news LldblLs ls cerLalnly
noL lL.
<"/%&,4 ,"9# *+ (,%"'#*/,% *2" 9+'!% &# 9+'#"
*2/, ,+* '"/%&,4 /,1*2&,4. WhaL's besL: cuL
yourself off from dally news consumpLlon enLlrely.
8ead books and LhoughLful [ournals lnsLead of
gulplng down flashlng headllnes.






'$ B > '()* %* 0$C%? 0$ 2$:- 7$&2
news consLanLly Lrlggers Lhe llmblc sysLem.
anlcky sLorles spur Lhe release of cascades of
glucocordlcold (corLlsol). 1hls deregulaLes your
lmmune sysLem and lnhlblLs Lhe release of growLh
hormones. ln oLher words, your body flnds lLself ln
a sLaLe of chronlc sLress. Plgh glucocordlcold levels
cause lmpalred dlgesLlon, lack of growLh (cell, halr,
bone), nervousness and suscepLlblllLy Lo
lnfecLlons. ="9# 7+,#(."'# '&#3 &.)/&'&,4 *2"&'
)21#&7/! 2"/!*2: 1he oLher poLenLlal slde effecLs of
news lnclude fear, aggresslon, Lunnel-vlslon and
desenslLlzaLlon.




'$ D > '()* ;,**%#(/2 %<?-(,*(* ?$9<%0%#(
(--$-*
news feeds Lhe moLher of all cognlLlve errors:
7+,>&'./*&+, ?&/#. We auLomaLlcally,
sysLemaLlcally fllLer ouL evldence LhaL conLradlcLs
our preconcepLlons ln favor of evldence LhaL
conflrms our bellefs. ln Lhe words of Warren
8uffeLL: WhaL Lhe human belng ls besL aL dolng ls
lnLerpreLlng all new lnformaLlon so LhaL Lhelr prlor
concluslons remaln lnLacL." 1haL ls Lhe
conflrmaLlon blas. news consumpLlon, especlally
cusLomlzed news lnLake, exacerbaLes Lhls human
flaw. 1he resulL ls LhaL we walk around ln a cloud
of seemlngly conflrmlng daLa - even when our
Lheorles abouL Lhe world and ourselves may be
wrong. We become prone Lo overconfldence, Lake
sLupld rlsks and mls[udge opporLunlLles.
news noL only feeds Lhe conflrmaLlon blas, lL
exacerbaLes anoLher cognlLlve error: Lhe #*+'1
?&/#. Cur bralns crave sLorles LhaL make sense" -
even lf Lhey don'L correspond Lo reallLy. And news
organlzaLlons are happy Lo dellver Lhose fake
sLorles. lnsLead of [usL reporLlng LhaL Lhe sLock
markeL decllned (or lncreased) by 2, 1v news
anchors proclalm, 1he markeL decllned by 2
?"7/(#" +> @:" 1hls x could be a bank proflL


8olf uobelll (www.dobelll.com), 2010 age 3

forecasL, fear abouL Lhe Luro, non-farm payroll
sLaLlsLlcs, a led declslon, a LerrorlsL aLLack ln
Madrld, a subway sLrlke ln new ?ork, a handshake
beLween Lwo presldenLs, anyLhlng, really.
1hls remlnds me of hlgh school. My hlsLory
LexLbook speclfled seven reasons (noL slx, noL
elghL) why Lhe lrench 8evoluLlon erupLed. 1he
facL ls, we don'L know why Lhe lrench 8evoluLlon
broke ouL. And especlally noL why lL exploded
speclflcally ln 1789. And we don'L know why Lhe
sLock markeL moves as lL moves. 1oo many facLors
go lnLo such shlfLs. We don'L know why a war
breaks ouL, a Lechnologlcal breakLhrough ls
achleved or why Lhe oll prlce [umps. Any [ournallsL
who wrlLes, 1he markeL moved because of x" or
Lhe company wenL bankrupL because of ?" ls an
ldloL. Cf course, x mlghL have had a casual
lnfluence, buL lL's far from esLabllshed, and oLher
lnfluences may be much more meanlngful. 1o a
large degree, news reporLs conslsL of noLhlng buL
sLorles and anecdoLes LhaL end up subsLlLuLlng for
coherenL analyses. l am fed up wlLh Lhls cheap
way of explalnlng" Lhe world. lL's lnapproprlaLe.
lL's lrraLlonal. lL's forgery. And l refuse Lo leL lL
conLamlnaLe my Lhlnklng.




'$ E > '()* %<1%7%0* 01%<F%<9
1hlnklng requlres concenLraLlon. ConcenLraLlon
requlres unlnLerrupLed Llme. news lLems are llke
free-floaLlng radlcals LhaL lnLerfere wlLh clear
Lhlnklng. news pleces are speclflcally englneered
Lo lnLerrupL you. 1hey are llke vlruses LhaL sLeal
aLLenLlon for Lhelr own purposes. 1hls ls noL abouL
sLeallng Llme (see reason 8). 1hls ls abouL Lhe
lnablllLy Lo Lhlnk clearly because you have opened
yourself up Lo Lhe dlsrupLlve facLold sLream.
="9# ./3"# (# #2/!!+9 *2&,3"'#. 8uL lL's worse
Lhan LhaL. news severely />>"7*# .".+'1.
1here are Lwo Lypes of memory. Long-range
memory's capaclLy ls nearly lnflnlLe, buL worklng
memory ls llmlLed Lo a mlnlmum amounL of
sllppery daLa (Lry repeaLlng a 10-dlglL phone
number afLer you hear lL for Lhe flrsL Llme). 1he
paLh from shorL-Lerm Lo long-Lerm memory ls a
choke-polnL ln Lhe braln, buL anyLhlng you wanL Lo
undersLand musL pasL Lhrough lL. lf Lhls
passageway ls dlsrupLed, noLhlng passes Lhrough.
8ecause news dlsrupLs concenLraLlon, lL acLlvely
weakens comprehenslon.
?ou don'L vlslL arls for [usL one hour or speed
Lhrough Lhe Museum of Modern ArL ln Lwo
mlnuLes. Why noL? 8ecause Lhe braln needs spool-
up Llme. 8ulldlng up concenLraLlon Lakes a
mlnlmum of a 10-mlnuLe read. Clven less Llme,
your braln wlll process Lhe lnformaLlon
superflclally and barely sLore lL. news pleces are
llke wlnd hlLLlng your cheek. Ask yourself: WhaL
are Lhe Lop Len news lLems from a monLh ago (LhaL
are no longer ln Lhe news Loday)? lf you have a
hard Llme rememberlng, you are noL alone. Why
would you wanL Lo consume someLhlng LhaL
doesn'L add Lo your body of knowledge?
1he onllne news has an even worse lmpacL. ln a
2001 sLudy
1
Lwo scholars ln Canada showed LhaL
comprehenslon decllnes as Lhe number of
hyperllnks ln a documenL lncrease. Why? 8ecause
whenever a llnk appears, your braln has Lo aL leasL
make Lhe cholce noL Lo cllck, whlch ln lLself ls
dlsLracLlng.
news consumers are suckers for lrrelevancy, and
onllne news consumers are Lhe blggesL suckers.
news ls an lnLerrupLlon sysLem. lL selzes your
aLLenLlon only Lo scramble lL. 8esldes a lack of
glucose ln your blood sLream, news dlsLracLlon ls
Lhe blggesL barrlcade Lo clear Lhlnklng.




1
nlcholas Carr: 1he Web ShaLLers locus, 8ewlres 8ralns, A&'"%, May 2010


8olf uobelll (www.dobelll.com), 2010 age 6


'$ G > '()* ?1,<9(* 01( *0-:?0:-( $6 2$:-
7-,%<
news works llke a drug. As sLorles develop, we
naLurally wanL Lo know how Lhey conLlnue. WlLh
hundreds of arblLrary sLory llnes ln our heads, Lhls
cravlng ls lncreaslngly compelllng and hard Lo
lgnore.
Why ls news addlcLlve? Cnce you geL lnLo Lhe
hablL of checklng Lhe news, you are drlven Lo
check lL even more ofLen. ?our aLLenLlon ls seL on
fasL-breaklng evenLs, so you hunger for more daLa
abouL Lhem. 1hls has Lo do wlLh a process called
long-Lerm poLenLlaLlon" (L1) and Lhe reward
clrculLs ln your braln. AddlcLs seek more of an
addlcLlve subsLance Lo geL Lhelr flx, because Lhey
need more sLlmulaLlon Lhan non-addlcLs Lo reach a
saLlsfylng reward Lhreshold. lf you seL your
aLLenLlon on oLher Lhlngs - llke llLeraLure, sclence,
arL, hlsLory, cooklng, peL groomlng, whaLever -
you wlll become more focused on Lhose Lhlngs.
1haL's [usL how Lhe braln works.
Sclence used Lo Lhlnk LhaL our braln, Lhe dense
connecLlons formed among Lhe 100 bllllon
neurons lnslde our skulls, was largely flxed by Lhe
Llme we reached adulLhood. 1oday we know LhaL
Lhls ls noL Lhe case. 1he human braln ls hlghly
plasLlc. nerve cells rouLlnely break old connecLlons
and form new ones. When we adapL Lo a new
culLural phenomenon, lncludlng Lhe consumpLlon
of news, we end up wlLh a dlfferenL braln.
AdapLaLlon Lo news occurs aL a blologlcal level.
news reprograms us. 1haL means our braln works
dlfferenLly even when we're noL consumlng news.
And LhaL's dangerous.
1he more news we consume, Lhe more we
exerclse Lhe neural clrculLs devoLed Lo sklmmlng
and mulLlLasklng whlle lgnorlng Lhose used for
readlng deeply and Lhlnklng wlLh profound focus.
MosL news consumers - even lf Lhey used Lo be
avld book readers - have losL Lhe ablllLy Lo read
and absorb lengLhy arLlcles or books. AfLer four,
flve pages Lhey geL Llred, Lhelr concenLraLlon
vanlshes, Lhey become resLless. lL's noL because
Lhey goL older or Lhelr schedules became more
onerous. lL's because Lhe physlcal sLrucLure of
Lhelr bralns has changed. ln Lhe words of rofessor
Mlchael Merzenlch (unlverslLy of Callfornla, San
lranclsco), a ploneer ln Lhe fleld of neuroplasLlclLy:
We are Lralnlng our bralns Lo pay aLLenLlon Lo Lhe
crap."
ueep readlng ls lndlsLlngulshable from deep
Lhlnklng. When you consume news, your braln
sLrucLurally changes. 1hls means LhaL Lhe way you
Lhlnk changes. 8egalnlng Lhe capaclLy for
concenLraLlon and conLemplaLlon wlll Lake noLhlng
less Lhan a radlcal news-free dleL.




'$ H > '()* %* ?$*0/2
news wasLes Llme. lL exacLs exorblLanL cosLs.
news Laxes producLlvlLy Lhree ways. llrsL, counL
Lhe consumpLlon-Llme LhaL news demands. 1haL's
Lhe Llme you acLually wasLe readlng, llsLenlng Lo or
waLchlng Lhe news.
Second, Lally up Lhe refocuslng Llme - or swlLchlng
cosL. 1haL's Lhe Llme you wasLe Lrylng Lo geL back
Lo whaL you were dolng before Lhe news
lnLerrupLed you. ?ou have Lo collecL your
LhoughLs. WhaL were you abouL Lo do? Lvery Llme
you dlsrupL your work Lo check Lhe news,
reorlenLlng yourself wasLes more Llme.
1hlrd, news dlsLracLs us even hours afLer we've
dlgesLed Loday's hoL lLems. news sLorles and
lmages may pop lnLo your mlnd hours, someLlmes
days laLer, consLanLly lnLerrupLlng your Lraln of
LhoughL. Why would you wanL Lo do LhaL Lo
yourself?
lf you read Lhe newspaper for 13 mlnuLes each
mornlng, Lhen check Lhe news for 13 mlnuLes
durlng lunch and 13 mlnuLes before you go Lo bed,
you're eaLlng subsLanLlal Llme. 1hen, add flve
mlnuLes here and Lhere when you're aL work, plus
dlsLracLlon and refocuslng Llme. ?ou wlll lose


8olf uobelll (www.dobelll.com), 2010 age 7

producLlve hours LoLallng aL leasL 2/!> / %/1 ";"'1
9""3. Palf a day - and for whaL?
Cn a global level, Lhe loss ln poLenLlal producLlvlLy
ls huge. 1ake Lhe 2008 Lerror aLLacks ln Mumbal,
where LerrorlsLs murdered some 200 people ln an
acL of chllllng exhlblLlonlsm. lmaglne LhaL a bllllon
people devoLed, on average, one hour of Lhelr
aLLenLlon Lo Lhe Mumbal Lragedy: followlng Lhe
news, waLchlng some Lalklng head on 1v, Lhlnklng
abouL lL. 1he number ls a wlld guess, buL Lhe guess
ls far from a wlld number. lndla, alone, has more
Lhan a bllllon people. Many of Lhem spenL whole
days followlng Lhe drama. Cne bllllon people Llmes
one hour ls one bllllon hours, whlch ls more Lhan
100,000 years. 1he global average llfe expecLancy
ls Loday 66 years. So nearly 2,000 llves were
swallowed by news consumpLlon. lL's far more
Lhan Lhe number of people murdered. ln a sense,
Lhe newscasLers became unwllllng bedfellows of
Lhe LerrorlsLs. AL leasL Lhe Mumbal aLLacks had
acLual lmpacL. Look aL Lhe hours losL when
Mlchael !ackson dled - no real conLenL ln Lhe
sLorles, and mllllons of hours wasLed.
lnformaLlon ls no longer a scarce commodlLy. 8uL
aLLenLlon ls. Why glve lL away so easlly? ?ou are
noL LhaL lrresponslble wlLh your money, your
repuLaLlon or your healLh. Why glve away your
mlnd?




'$ I > '()* *:<&(-* 01( -(/,0%$<*1%J
7(0)((< -(J:0,0%$< ,<& ,?1%(#(;(<0
8epuLaLlon affecLs how people cooperaLe ln
socleLy. ln our ancesLral pasL, a person's
repuLaLlon was dlrecLly llnked Lo hls or her
achlevemenLs. ?ou saw LhaL your fellow Lrlbe
member kllled a Llger slngle handedly and you
spread word of hls bravery.
WlLh Lhe advenL of mass-produced news, Lhe
sLrange concepL of fame" enLered our socleLy.
lame ls mlsleadlng because generally people
become famous for reasons LhaL have llLLle
relevance Lo our llves. 1he medla granLs fame Lo
movle sLars and news anchors for scanL reason.
news sunders Lhe relaLlonshlp beLween
repuLaLlon and achlevemenL. 1he Lragedy ls LhaL
pop noLorleLy crowds ouL Lhe achlevemenLs of
Lhose who make more subsLanLlve conLrlbuLlons.




'$ =K > '()* %* J-$&:?(& 72 L$:-<,/%*0*
Cood professlonal [ournallsLs Lake Llme wlLh Lhelr
sLorles, auLhenLlcaLe Lhelr facLs and Lry Lo Lhlnk
Lhlngs Lhrough. 8uL llke any professlon, [ournallsm
has some lncompeLenL, unfalr pracLlLloners who
don'L have Lhe Llme - or Lhe capaclLy - for deep
analysls. ?ou mlghL noL be able Lo Lell Lhe
dlfference beLween a pollshed professlonal reporL
and a rushed, gllb, pald-by-Lhe-plece arLlcle by a
wrlLer wlLh an ax Lo grlnd. lL all looks llke news.
My esLlmaLe: fewer Lhan 10 of Lhe news sLorles
are orlglnal. Less Lhan 1 are Lruly lnvesLlgaLlve.
And only once every 30 years do [ournallsLs
uncover a WaLergaLe. Many reporLers cobble
LogeLher Lhe resL of Lhe news from oLher people's
reporLs, common knowledge, shallow Lhlnklng and
whaLever Lhe [ournallsL can flnd on Lhe lnLerneL.
Some reporLers copy from each oLher or refer Lo
old pleces, wlLhouL necessarlly caLchlng up wlLh
any lnLerlm correcLlons. 1he copylng and Lhe
copylng of Lhe coples mulLlply Lhe flaws ln Lhe
sLorles and Lhelr lrrelevance.








8olf uobelll (www.dobelll.com), 2010 age 8

'$ == > 5(J$-0(& 6,?0* ,-( *$;(0%;(*
)-$<9M 6$-(?,*0* ,/),2*
SomeLlmes, reporLed facLs are slmply mlsLaken.
WlLh reduced edlLorlal budgeLs aL ma[or
publlcaLlons, facL checklng may be an endangered
sLep ln Lhe news process.
52" ="9 B+'3"' magazlne ls legendary for lLs facL
checklng. 1he sLory goes LhaL when an arLlcle
menLloned Lhe Lmplre SLaLe 8ulldlng, someone
from Lhe facL-checklng deparLmenL would go ouL
and vlsually verlfy LhaL, ln facL, Lhe bulldlng was
sLlll sLandlng. l don'L know lf Lhe sLory ls Lrue, buL
lL hlghllghLs a polnL. 1oday, Lhe facL checker ls an
endangered specles aL mosL news companles
(Lhough sLlll allve and well aL 52" ="9 B+'3"').
Many news sLorles lnclude predlcLlons, buL
accuraLely predlcLlng anyLhlng ln a complex world
ls lmposslble. Cverwhelmlng evldence lndlcaLes
LhaL forecasLs by [ournallsLs and by experLs ln
flnance, soclal developmenL, global confllcLs and
Lechnology are almosL always compleLely wrong.
So, why consume LhaL [unk?
uld Lhe newspapers predlcL World War l, Lhe
CreaL uepresslon, Lhe sexual revoluLlon, Lhe fall of
Lhe SovleL emplre, Lhe rlse of Lhe lnLerneL,
reslsLance Lo anLlbloLlcs, Lhe fall of Lurope's blrLh
raLe or Lhe exploslon ln depresslon cases? Maybe,
you'd flnd one or Lwo correcL predlcLlons ln a sea
of mllllons of mlsLaken ones. C,7+''"7* >+'"7/#* /'"
,+* +,!1 (#"!"##- *2"1 /'" 2/'.>(!.
1o lncrease Lhe accuracy of your predlcLlons, cuL
ouL Lhe news and roll Lhe dlce or, lf you are ready
for depLh, read books and knowledgeable [ournals
Lo undersLand Lhe lnvlslble generaLors LhaL affecL
our world.






'$ =@ > '()* %* ;,<%J:/,0%#(
Cur evoluLlonary pasL has equlpped us wlLh a
good bullshlL deLecLor for face-Lo-face
lnLeracLlons. We auLomaLlcally use many clues Lo
deLecL manlpulaLlon, clues LhaL go beyond Lhe
verbal message and lnclude gesLure, faclal
expresslon, and slgns of nervousness such as
sweaLy palms, blushlng and body odor. Llvlng ln
small bands of people, we almosL always knew Lhe
background of Lhe messenger. lnformaLlon always
came wlLh a rlch seL of meLa-daLa. 1oday, even
consclenLlous readers flnd LhaL dlsLlngulshlng
even-handed news sLorles from ones LhaL have a
prlvaLe agenda ls dlfflculL and energy consumlng.
Why go Lhrough LhaL?
SLorles are selecLed or slanLed Lo please
adverLlsers (adverLlslng blas) or Lhe owners of Lhe
medla (corporaLe blas), and each medla ouLleL has
a Lendency Lo reporL whaL everyone else ls
reporLlng, and Lo avold sLorles LhaL wlll offend
anyone (malnsLream blas).
1he publlc relaLlons (8) lndusLry ls as large as Lhe
news reporLlng lndusLry - Lhe besL proof LhaL
[ournallsLs and news organlzaLlons 7/, be
manlpulaLed, or aL leasL lnfluenced or swayed.
CorporaLlons, lnLeresL groups and oLher
organlzaLlons would noL expend such huge sums
on 8 lf lL dldn'L work. lf splnmelsLers can
manlpulaLe [ournallsLs, who have a naLural
skepLlclsm Loward powerful organlzaLlons, whaL
makes you Lhlnk you can escape Lhelr Lrlckery?
1ake Lhe nurse naylrah sLory. naylrah was a 13-
year-old kuwalLl glrl who LesLlfled Lo Lhe u.S.
Congress durlng Lhe run up Lo Lhe 1991 Culf War.
She alleged LhaL she had wlLnessed Lhe murder of
lnfanL chlldren by lraql soldlers ln kuwalL. vlrLually
every medla ouLleL covered Lhe sLory. 1he u.S.
publlc was ouLraged, whlch ln Lurn pushed
Congress closer Lo approvlng Lhe war. Per
LesLlmony, whlch all medla ouLleLs regarded as
credlble aL Lhe Llme, has slnce come Lo be
regarded as warLlme propaganda.
!ournallsm shapes a common plcLure of Lhe world
and a common seL of narraLlves for dlscusslng lL. lL


8olf uobelll (www.dobelll.com), 2010 age 9

seLs Lhe publlc agenda. Pold on: do we really wanL
news reporLers Lo seL Lhe publlc agenda? l belleve
LhaL agenda seLLlng by Lhe medla ls [usL bad
democracy.




'$ =A > '()* ;,F(* :* J,**%#(
news sLorles are overwhelmlngly abouL Lhlngs you
cannoL lnfluence. 1hls seLs readers up Lo have a
faLallsLlc ouLlook on Lhe world.
Compare Lhls wlLh our ancesLral pasL, where you
could acL upon pracLlcally every blL of news. Cur
evoluLlonary pasL prepared us Lo acL on
lnformaLlon, buL Lhe dally repeLlLlon of news
abouL Lhlngs we can'L acL upon makes us passlve.
lL saps our energy. lL grlnds us down unLll we
adopL a worldvlew LhaL ls pesslmlsLlc,
desenslLlzed, sarcasLlc and faLallsLlc.
lf Lhe human braln encounLers a barrage of
amblguous lnformaLlon wlLhouL belng able Lo acL
upon LhaL lnformaLlon, lL can reacL wlLh passlvlLy
and a sense of vlcLlmhood. 1he sclenLlflc Lerm ls
!"/',"% 2"!)!"##,"##. lL's a blL of a sLreLch, buL l
would noL be surprlsed lf news consumpLlon aL
leasL parLlally conLrlbuLes Lo Lhe wldespread
dlsease of depresslon. vlewed on a Llmellne, Lhe
spread of depresslon colncldes almosL perfecLly
wlLh Lhe growLh and maLurlLy of Lhe mass medla.
Maybe lL's a colncldence, or maybe Lhe consLanL
onslaughL of flre, famlne, flood and fallure adds Lo
depresslon, even lf Lhese sad reporLs come from
far away.




=B > '()* 9%#(* :* 01( %//:*%$< $6 ?,-%<9
kaLhleen norrls (even lf l don'L share mosL of her
ldeas) sald lL besL: We may wanL Lo belleve LhaL
we are sLlll concerned, as our eyes drlfL from a
news anchor announclng Lhe laLesL aLroclLy Lo Lhe
n8A scores and sLock markeL quoLes sLreamlng
across Lhe boLLom of Lhe screen. 8uL Lhe ceaseless
bombardmenL of lmage and verblage makes us
lmpervlous Lo carlng."
news wraps us ln a warm global feellng. We are all
world clLlzens. We are all connecLed. 1he planeL ls
[usL one global vlllage. We slng We Are Lhe
World" and wave Lhe llLLle flame of our llghLers ln
perfecL harmony wlLh Lhousands of oLhers. 1hls
glves us a glowlng, fuzzy feellng LhaL dellvers Lhe
llluslon of carlng buL doesn'L geL us anywhere. 1hls
allure of anyLhlng bespeaklng global broLherhood
smells llke a glganLlc chlmera. 1he facL ls,
consumlng news does noL make us more
connecLed Lo each oLher. We are connecLed
because we lnLeracL and Lrade.




'$ =D > '()* F%//* ?-(,0%#%02
1hlngs we already know llmlL our creaLlvlLy. 1hls ls
one reason LhaL maLhemaLlclans, novellsLs,
composers and enLrepreneurs ofLen produce Lhelr
mosL creaLlve works aL a young age. 1hey are
obllvlous Lo much LhaL has been Lrled before. 1helr
bralns en[oy a wlde, unlnhablLed space LhaL
emboldens Lhem Lo come up wlLh and pursue
novel ldeas.
l don'L know a slngle Lruly creaLlve mlnd who ls a
news [unkle - noL a wrlLer, noL a composer,
maLhemaLlclan, physlclan, sclenLlsL, muslclan,
deslgner, archlLecL or palnLer. Cn Lhe oLher hand, l
know a whole bunch of vlclously uncreaLlve mlnds
who consume news llke drugs.
1he creaLlvlLy-kllllng effecL of news mlghL also be
due Lo someLhlng slmpler we've dlscussed before:
dlsLracLlon. l [usL can'L lmaglne produclng novel
ldeas wlLh Lhe dlsLracLlon LhaL news always
dellvers. C> 1+( 9/,* *+ 7+." () 9&*2 +!% #+!(*&+,#-


8olf uobelll (www.dobelll.com), 2010 age 10

'"/% ,"9#: lf you are looklng for new soluLlons,
don'L read news.



N1,0 0$ &$ %<*0(,&
Co wlLhouL news. CuL lL ouL compleLely. Co cold
Lurkey.
Make news as lnaccesslble as posslble. ueleLe Lhe
news apps from your lhone. Sell your 1v. Cancel
your newspaper subscrlpLlons. uo noL plck up
newspapers and magazlnes LhaL lle around ln
alrporLs and Lraln sLaLlons. uo noL seL your
browser defaulL Lo a news slLe. lck a slLe LhaL
never changes. 1he more sLale Lhe beLLer. ueleLe
all news slLes from your browser's favorlLes llsL.
ueleLe Lhe news wldgeLs from your deskLop.
lf you wanL Lo keep Lhe llluslon of noL mlsslng
anyLhlng lmporLanL", l suggesL you glance Lhrough
Lhe summary page of Lhe D7+,+.&#* once a week.
uon'L spend more Lhan flve mlnuLes on lL.
8ead magazlnes and books whlch explaln Lhe
world - 87&",7"- =/*('"- 52" ="9 B+'3"'- 52"
E*!/,*&7 F+,*2!1: Co for magazlnes LhaL connecL
Lhe doLs and don'L shy away from presenLlng Lhe
complexlLles of llfe - or from purely enLerLalnlng
you. 1he world ls compllcaLed, and we can do
noLhlng abouL lL. So, you musL read longlsh and
deep arLlcles and books LhaL represenL lLs
complexlLy. 1ry readlng a book a week. 8eLLer Lwo
or Lhree. PlsLory ls good. 8lology. sychology. 1haL
way you'll learn Lo undersLand Lhe underlylng
mechanlsms of Lhe world. Co deep lnsLead of
broad. Ln[oy maLerlal LhaL Lruly lnLeresLs you.
Pave fun readlng.
1he flrsL week wlll be Lhe hardesL. uecldlng noL Lo
check Lhe news whlle you are Lhlnklng, wrlLlng or
readlng Lakes dlsclpllne. ?ou are flghLlng your
braln's bullL-ln Lendency. lnlLlally, you wlll feel ouL
of Louch or even soclally lsolaLed. Lvery day you
wlll be LempLed Lo check your favorlLe news Web
slLe. uon'L do lL. SLlck Lo Lhe cold-Lurkey plan. Co
30 days wlLhouL news. AfLer 30 days, you wlll have
a more relaxed aLLlLude Loward Lhe news. ?ou wlll
flnd LhaL you have more Llme, more concenLraLlon
and a beLLer undersLandlng of Lhe world.
AfLer a whlle, you wlll reallze LhaL desplLe your
personal news blackouL, you have noL mlssed -
and you're noL golng Lo mlss - any lmporLanL facLs.
lf some blL of lnformaLlon ls Lruly lmporLanL Lo
your professlon, your company, your famlly or
your communlLy, you wlll hear lL ln Llme - from
your frlends, your moLher-ln-law or whomever
you Lalk Lo or see. When you are wlLh your frlends,
ask Lhem lf anyLhlng lmporLanL ls happenlng ln Lhe
world. 1he quesLlon ls a greaL conversaLlon
sLarLer. MosL of Lhe Llme, Lhe answer wlll be: noL
really."
Are you afrald LhaL llvlng a news-free exlsLence
wlll make you an ouLcasL aL parLles? Well, you
mlghL noL know LhaL Llndsay Lohan wenL Lo [all,
buL you wlll have more lnLelllgenL facLs Lo share -
abouL Lhe culLural meanlng of Lhe food you are
eaLlng or Lhe dlscovery of exosolar planeLs. never
be shy abouL dlscusslng your news dleL. eople
wlll be fasclnaLed.




O$$& '()*
SocleLy needs [ournallsm - buL ln a dlfferenL way.
lnvesLlgaLlve [ournallsm ls relevanL ln any socleLy.
We need more hard-core [ournallsLs dlgglng lnLo
meanlngful sLorles. We need reporLlng LhaL pollces
our socleLy and uncovers Lhe LruLh. 1he besL
example ls WaLergaLe. 8uL lmporLanL flndlngs
don'L have Lo arrlve ln Lhe form of news. CfLen,
reporLlng ls noL Llme senslLlve. Long [ournal
arLlcles and ln-depLh books are flne forums for
lnvesLlgaLlve [ournallsm - and now LhaL you've
gone cold Lurkey on Lhe news, you'll have Llme Lo
read Lhem. !


8olf uobelll (www.dobelll.com), 2010 age 11





3%*?/,%;(-
1he above sLaLemenLs reflecL Lhe mosL LruLhful
vlewpolnL l can achleve aL Lhe Llme of Lhls wrlLlng.
l reserve Lhe rlghL Lo revlse my vlews aL any Llme. l
mlghL even lndulge ln Lhe freedom of
conLradlcLlng myself. l have done so ln Lhe pasL
and wlll mosL cerLalnly do so ln Lhe fuLure. 1he
only reason l would change my vlews (a swlLch
whlch would undoubLedly be noLlced by Lhe
conslsLency pollce" (usually [ournallsLs wlLh good
hlgh-school degrees) ls because Lhe new verslon ls
closer Lo Lhe LruLh, noL ever because l would galn
any personal advanLage. !



+1( 4$$F
1hls manlfesLo has been publlshed ln AugusL 2010
on www.dobelll.com. l have made small changes
slnce. ln Lhe Sprlng of 2013 52" E'* +> 52&,3&,4
G!"/'!1 came ouL. 1he book hlghllghLs some of Lhe
cognlLlve errors assoclaLed wlLh news
consumpLlon. 8elow you flnd Lhe Lwo covers (uk
and uS edlLlons)