Hans Rosling coined the idea of “factfulness” as a way of contextualizing world news: focus on the big picture rather than every sad story and you’ll see that many aspects of life are improving. “Reading the morning newspaper is the realist’s morning prayer,” wrote the philosopher Hegel at the turn of the 1800s. It was a time when the mass dissemination of news was allowing people to make decisions based on something concrete, beyond religious beliefs. Would Hegel have seen the sanctity in propping yourself up on one elbow half-conscious in bed to scroll through Twitter? Certainly, the contemporary reality of nonstop news is one he never could have predicted. The average adult in the US now spends more than 11 hours per day listening to, watching, reading or otherwise interacting with some sort of media. A good part of this is news—news that comes tumbling into our brain throughout the day via our social This story is from Kinfolk Issue Thirty-Four Buy Now Related Stories Arts & Culture Issue 37 Such Good News On the success of others. Arts & Culture Issue 36 Known Unknowns How to make no news good news. Arts & Culture Issue 48 Jordan Casteel The acclaimed painter of people—and now plants. Arts & Culture Issue 48 The Sweet Spot How long is the perfect vacation? Arts & Culture Issue 48 Cliff Tan Four questions for a feng shui guru. Arts & Culture Issue 48 Figure Skating with Mirai Nagasu The Olympic athlete has known glory, pain and transcendence on the ice.
Arts & Culture Issue 48 Figure Skating with Mirai Nagasu The Olympic athlete has known glory, pain and transcendence on the ice.
