Aha. It would seem you’re not put off by the idea of reading a longer bit of text. These days, that’s seen as somewhat unusual. People say the demands we can place on an average reader’s attention span are declining. Reports on the issue often point to digital sensory overload as the cause. The concrete figures with regards to maximum attention span vary substantially and are sometimes quite creative. For instance, there is a long-standing rumour that it is just eight seconds, which is less than that of a goldfish. The goldfish achieves a whole nine seconds. In our opinion, that’s an unfair comparison: surely a goldfish is usually concentrating on something significantly less strenuous than reading. Since you have read on this far, you’re almost certain to score above the average, and for above-average readers we are making a special offer in this text, hidden, as it were. We haven’t mentioned it until now because we wanted to make sure it didn’t fall into the wrong hands. It’s for a trial subscription to the Neue Zürcher Zeitung for an especially attractive price: three months for a single Swiss franc. You can get it by signing up here: nzz.ch/nzz.ch/aha1. The “aha” is easy to remember, we think, because that’s how this text starts. We look forward to your registration.