Evolution in information age

Who will “survive” when there is too much information

For small part of population to whom daily survival is not an immediate issue, there is another factor that will determine their success. That factor is ability to navigate within vast information space.

The extent and availability of public knowledge and information is overwhelming. In many areas people can find all the relevant knowledge to be successful relative to their peers.

The problem is that there is too much knowledge. In addition, the available knowledge is of various quality, duplication and reliability. This situation will only get worse as the available knowledge base will continue growing into foreseeable future.

So who should thrive in this environment?

First, people who are good at researching. When faced with large amounts of available data, it is critical to be able to identify proper search terms and to be able to narrow done search results to relevant sources.

This is highly iterative process as people have to start research from more general topics and constantly narrow and refocus their search to find more detailed and more relevant information.

Second, people who can assess the quality and reliability of identified sources. Not all available information is of equal quality, depth and objectivity. Before using any information, people have to triage it to assess its degree of confidence.

People also have to constantly reassess the assigned degree of confidence for each absorbed information piece. Open mind is important to retain objectivity and to be able to quickly adopt to changing information.

Third, people who are able to work with different information channels. Each information channel has its own preferences for prioritizing the available information.

Internet search engine algorithms constantly tend to pick certain sources over others. That algorithm is designed to deliver the most relevant results for average user. In this process, both assumptions about average user and quality of algorithm affect the results. Those results are not necessarily the ones that are the most relevant for your particular needs.

To mitigate the problem of uniformity, people have to be able to explore and compare different channels — other search engines (both global and country specific), different environments (popular science vs academia), and different means of delivery (books vs web sites).

It is always good idea after exploring main consensus idea to also understand what are the most popular objections and alternatives.

Fourth, people who are able extract and absorb the most relevant information for their purpose.

Paralysis by analysis is common problem among many people. People have to quickly identify which are critical information pieces. Speed versus quality should be balanced based on the cost of using information that is not fully correct. The lower the cost of using partially correct information, the better it is to quickly select most likely winner and start applying that information. Nothing validates acquired information better than real world application.

Finally, people who can apply the acquired information in the pursuit of their goals. All of the previous skills can be nullified if people don’t apply the acquired information. All prior abilities increase performance potential of a person. This last ability ultimately determines the success of an individual.

In summary, the most successful people in the information age will be those who can maximize the following equation:

Results achieved = (ability to research) x (ability to assess information quality) x (ability to increase breadth of information channels) x (ability to extract relevant information) x (ability to apply the acquired knowledge)