“News is to the mind what sugar is to the body. News is easy to digest. The media feeds us small bites of trivial matter, tidbits that don’t really concern our lives and don’t require thinking. That’s why we experience almost no saturation. Unlike reading books and long magazine articles (which require thinking), we can swallow limitless quantities of news flashes, which are bright-coloured candies for the mind.” ~ Rolf Dobelli, via James Clear Blog
“We are incredibly well informed, yet we know incredibly little. Why? Because two centuries ago, we invented a toxic form of knowledge called ‘news.’ News is to the mind what sugar is to the body: appetizing, easy to digest—and highly destructive in the long run.” ~ Rolf Dobelli, The Art of Thinking Clearly
“We have problems perceiving nonevents. We are blind to what does not exist. We realize if there is a war, but we do not appreciate the absence of war during peacetime. If we are healthy, we rarely think about being sick. Or, if we get off the plane in Cancún, we do not stop to notice that we did not crash. If we thought more frequently about absence, we might well be happier.” ~ Rolf Dobelli, The Art of Thinking Clearly
“Willpower is like a battery, at least in the short term. If it is depleted, future challenges will falter. This is a fundamental insight. Self-control is not available around the clock. It needs time to refuel.” ~ Rolf Dobelli, The Art of Thinking Clearly
“Verbal expression is the mirror of the mind. Clear thoughts become clear statements, whereas ambiguous ideas transform into vacant ramblings. The trouble is that, in many cases, we lack very lucid thoughts. The world is complicated, and it takes a great deal of mental effort to understand even one facet of the whole.” ~ Rolf Dobelli, The Art of Thinking Clearly
“Whether you go through life believing that ‘people are inherently good’ or ‘people are inherently bad,’ you will find daily proof to support your case. Both parties, the philanthropists and the misanthropes, simply filter disconfirming evidence (evidence to the contrary) and focus on the do-gooders and dictators who support their worldviews.” ~ Rolf Dobelli, The Art of Thinking Clearly