A few years ago, the English newspaper The Guardian invited me to present my book The Art of Clear Thinking, which had just been translated into English. The editor-in-chief Alan Rusbridger gathered the editorial team, and the room was full. Rusbridger cleared his throat and said sternly, "I just went to your website and discovered a rather controversial article of yours. We would like you to talk about that, not about your new book." I swallowed hard. In that article, I argued against the "consumption" of what globally recognized professionals of the newspaper produced every day: the news. And I was trying to explain why we could live better without this so popular product.

I elaborated for about twenty minutes on the position I outlined in the article and concluded: "Let’s face it, ladies and gentlemen, basically you are producing entertainment here." Silence. And if a pin dropped, you would have heard it. Rusbridger squinted, looked around, and said: "I want to publish Dobelli's arguments. Today, even." Then he turned and left the room without saying goodbye. Four hours later, a shortened version of my article was published on The Guardian's website. Within a short time, 450 readers—the maximum number from a technical perspective—had written comments. The article "News is Bad for You" turned out to be, paradoxically, one of the most read articles of the year.

The book you are holding in your hands is based on that "controversial" article, but it contains more elements: more research on what news does to us and more advice on how to break free from the addiction to it. The digital revolution has turned news from a harmless source of entertainment into a weapon of mass destruction against common sense. One thing seems very important to me: limiting news consumption does not mean bitterness and resignation. On the contrary, it means many gifts: more free time and a new perspective on what really matters and makes us happy.

Rolf Dobelli