Information's relation with Quality and Quantity

Black Swan, Gray Rhino, choose your animal kingdom representation of entropy. The corollary effect of all representations is their oversized influence on physical, social, and cultural estates. We are a reactionary species - responding to various stimuli throughout the centuries ranging from all levels of Maslow's Tree of Needs and then some.

How we deal with said reactions has changed throughout time. At one period it was the serfs probably looking up to the kings and feudal lords with the power for sight into the future of tragic events. These 'Estates' have manifested into social institutions in many cases (Religion, Press, etc). The internet did not upend the estates but rather was appended onto them. This is the perspective of Ben Thompson, an independent, American business strategist.

Interestingly enough, Ben recently built off of this idea in one of his recent newsletters found on stratechery.com. Since the internet did not disrupt the prior estates, it was appended to the list - growing he added. The image below is his rough manifestation of the distribution of information with 'the implication of the internet making everyone a publish'. He deduced to the final development of quality/quantity of information distributed through illustrating that as misinformation becomes more prevalent, consequentially valuable information will increase as well.

Recently I have not seen a better example of the value of information and quantity than in Tyler Cowans newsletter, Marginal Revolution. In his recent publishing of 'assorted links' (my personal favorite btw), he attached this locked google sheet. Not only is the document a cornucopia with academic, scholarly, and government links of information on the Covid-19 virus but the number of active viewers as well. This exemplifies Ben Thompson's assertion that the depth of information out there does, in fact, lead to misinformation, however - what happens when you look in the other direction? This is a classic case for WYSIATI ('Thinking Fast and Slow' by Daniel Kahneman).

I understand that there was a lot brought up in this article. Polymorphic nuances are almost impossible to grasp entirely - we simply cannot predict. Hell, according to Taleb we cannot even predict our own past with certainty. This creates a paradise for speculators. As a speculator, constantly trying to seek new forms of leverage, it is to your own best interest to locate all communities online that lead to more value and dissemination of valuable information. Since the focus on misinformation is talked about more wildly (popularized by 'engagement is enragement') the communities creating more valuable information will shine like beacons 'on a hill' as John Winthrop would put it.

Takeaway: Estates have never been more subject to change. With trials and tribulation come events that can spark social and institutional growth. As these changes persist, it is in your own interest to leverage yourself and the information around you to learn more and become a better producer (see Tyler Cowans centralizing and dissemination of Covid-19 information). How are you adapting to large change? Are you in a position to leverage yourself and come out more 'rounded' with better perspectives to prepare you for what the future has?

These are questions that I have been asking myself as I have followed the growth of Covid-19. I understand the dangers of hysteria but understand more the positives of leveraged communities leading to the large dispersion of valuable and in this instance, life-saving information.

How are you staying informed? I guarantee it is significantly different from the school library you may have written your first dissertation at. You have probably started realizing you are following these informative communities without even recognizing it. Please drop the names of content creators, newsletters, and researchers below that you stay-on-top of in order to give yourself a competitive, informational edge over others.

I hope you found this article interesting and above all, got you thinking about how you can maximize growth in such turbulent times.

Best,

Noah B Marsh

Ideas were derived from the following books and authors:

• Cowan, Tyler "Marginal Revolution" Newsletter
• Kahneman, Daniel "Thinking Fast and Slow"
• Taleb, Nassim "The Black Swan:
• Thompson, Ben "Straterchy" Newsletter