This is a good time to remind each other of a few things.

• Every news outlet has an incentive. To get you to consume more news.

• News is not science. it’s original meaning described novel or noteworthy events or happenings. A collection of “new” things.

• News outlets have owners, and owners are people, and people have agendas. It’s okay.

• We are naturally biased to seek out negative news. Most news is negative — it sells.

• Surrounding ourselves with negative news may stress us out. Ever wondered why Zebras don’t get ulcers? Newsflash: they’re not exposed to a 24/7 negative news cycle.

If you want to know what’s going on in the world, look to old books. The older the better. Look for primary sources — people telling first hand accounts. Nassim Taleb suggests reading last week’s newspapers. In order to understand the Covid19 I read “The Great Influenza” — that book might as well have been written today, it was astonishingly (or perhaps not) accurate.

HT to Shane Parrish at Farnam Street for the reminder (click here).