INFORMATION: The Most Subjective Resource

There are many definitions of information. For instance, information is stimuli that have meaning in some context for their receiver.

The words you read now are information, your smartwatch shows information, and the Internet in your hands can provide you with information. We talk about the Information Age, the information explosion, etc.

I suggest looking at information through our frame—resources, uncertainty, and boundaries. Imagine our 2x2 matrix {2x2 MATRIX}. The two rows will be “has value” and “has no value.”

Where there is value, there is a resource. Information that has value for us is a resource. Such information increases your chances of reaching the endpoint. Even if you don’t have a particular endpoint, information helps you better perceive reality and survive.

Information that has no value is noise. The bad thing about noise is that it consumes our resources, usually time and effort, and gives nothing in return.

Yet, we all live in time and are affected by uncertainty. Thus, the two columns of the matrix will be “will have value” and “will not have value” in the future.

Information that has value now might continue to have it but might lose it, while information that has no value now might acquire it. As we all know, no one knows the future, and we estimate the future value of information based on its present one. Sometimes, we guess wrongly. Still, when evaluating any information, we should consider whether it is valuable now and guess its possible future value.

Another important thing is that the perception of information as a resource is subjective and depends on many issues. However, it is essential for proper communication. If you do not consider a critical piece of information important, you might easily miss it.

Also, hiding a crucial piece in a clutter of noise might be used as a trick to let you omit it. Think contracts, meeting agendas, and various codes and regulations.

{INFO ASYMMETRY, GUESSWORK, COMMUNICATION PRINCIPLES, COMPARTMENTALIZATION, SIGNAL/NOISE}