It should be noted that the linked-to article make many claims that lack nuance and justification (e.g., “News is toxic to your body” and “News massively increases cognitive errors”).
Out of the approximately 10,000 news stories you have read in the last 12 months, name one that–because you consumed it—allowed you to make a better decision about a serious matter affecting your life, your career, your business—compared to what you would have known if you hadn’t swallowed that morsel of news.
It’s helpful to know some COVID-related things (when is a vaccine expected; what are current prevalence rates) to help make decisions regarding how much risk to incur, how much toilet paper to buy, etc. In a few weeks (once the markets have settled), I’ll have made a few thousand dollars trading on PredictIt against people who thought that Trump’s chances were better than they were. I increased my charitable donations when the charitable-deduction limit was increased from 50% to 60% of AGI.
The article is right that very little news is of practical use! But overstating an argument isn’t the best way of convincing people of this.
It should be noted that the linked-to article make many claims that lack nuance and justification (e.g., “News is toxic to your body” and “News massively increases cognitive errors”).
It’s helpful to know some COVID-related things (when is a vaccine expected; what are current prevalence rates) to help make decisions regarding how much risk to incur, how much toilet paper to buy, etc. In a few weeks (once the markets have settled), I’ll have made a few thousand dollars trading on PredictIt against people who thought that Trump’s chances were better than they were. I increased my charitable donations when the charitable-deduction limit was increased from 50% to 60% of AGI.
The article is right that very little news is of practical use! But overstating an argument isn’t the best way of convincing people of this.