INFORMATION ASYMMETRY: …

As with anything, information has an uneven spread. Information asymmetry (IA) denotes a ubiquitous situation when one party has more information than another.

Suppose this information is valuable for both parties, i.e., a resource. In that case, the asymmetry creates an imbalance of power in transactions, which can cause the transactions to be inefficient or unfair. If one party has exclusive control over valuable information, your decision-making or performance can be compromised or handicapped.

Communication can reduce IA. Thus, in a professional setting, you might establish a ground rule specifying what information people must disclose in a project.

IA is a fundamental concept in our life. We grow and acquire competencies and knowledge. When we were children, we did not know or could not do much; thus, we depended on others. At our very start, IA was the highest, and everybody could be our teacher, as our knowledge was so limited that it almost did not exist. Then, we went to school, and the teachers who met us there to teach reading and writing were people with some training in pedagogy, so their pool was already reduced. The more knowledgeable we became, the fewer people could teach us. When we graduate from university, the number of people who can teach is small, and they are much needed: your supervisors must be mentors in the first place.

IA is critical for answering the “Who am I?” question and discovering what dreams to follow. The problem with dreams needs answering a question: at what point in your life can you understand what your dream can be? 

You might have watched a movie at four and dreamt of becoming an astronaut. When you were four, you thought (analyzing the information available) there were four professions: a daddy, a mommy, a nurse in the daycare, and an astronaut. Of course, you thought being an astronaut was the best of the four. Should you follow your dream when you are twenty?

You grow, work against the information asymmetry, and get first-hand experience. By discovering how you feel in different circumstances, you find yourself.

Expertise is a case of IA—the ability to see patterns where others don’t. Cultural barriers are another case of IA—how differently people value things and how they act according to those values. Reputation is a way for society to reduce IA when dealing with a particular person. Risk management is a way to fight IA at work—it involves examining the potential future of your project.

{HETEROGENEITY, COMPARTMENTALIZATION, NEED-TO-KNOW, EXPERT, EXPERT FUNNEL, COMMUNICATION PRINCIPLES, INFORMATION, WHO AM I?}