Information Asymmetry- AKA Communication Breakdown

Information Asymmetry was a large part of the book Freakonomics. I am of the opinion that a lack of information within one party, and for that matter a lack of information in general, is the root of many social problems. In the Led Zeppelin song "Communication Breakdown" the pivotal point of the problem is it tends to "drive me insane". While it is a weird analogy the lack of communication can lead to immense problems of information asymmetry and thus INSANITY.

The old adage that "ignorance is bliss" is only true to the extent that "what you don't know can kill you". In a world where news is on 24/7, and the Internet is filled with "information" we have just as much misinformation as ever before. With all this information how is it that we still have religious conflict, social strife, and political turmoil? Sorry, I try to use less intense language, but the "turmoil" was taken directly from the New York Times headlines for the day.

I fall victim to the idea of "ignorance as bliss". I often refuse to check my checking account balance based upon the notion that money will remain in there as long as I just keep swiping my debit card. It won't, and I must overcome the fear of being broke and move on. Facing your fears is the only way to get over them. So, what are the effects of information asymmetry, and how do we go about making the world more informed.

A good place to start may be to realize that their is no way to know everything. This is common sensical, but even our opinions are often entirely based upon one piece of here-say that is probably pretty inaccurate. It is vital to have opinions, but my own feeling is that I should probably shut the hell up in matters of importance where I have no idea what to say. Listening is a great tool to learn about the world around us. I am a talker. I say way too much. Most of what I say is probably a lot of BS. Admittedly, I should learn to shut up and do a lot more listening. I am getting better, but I still have a long way to go. Even with all the listening in the world it is important to realize that I only have so much time to invest, and that in many phases I am better suited to debate which trilogy was better, the original Star Wars or The Lord of the Rings, rather than debating fiscal policy in the United States. Pick your battles, but always be looking to learn.

Another important part of the equation is the fact that we don't have to agree with others to respect their opinion. All too often it is easy to blow up over a difference of opinion. The next step is to completely push back from that opinion and hide in our own opinions without trying to learn why that person or party holds the opinion they do. This goes along with listening. Often, a great deal of ground can be gained by simply listening to another persons opinion. You don't have to be convinced, but the communication may go a long way.

 Misinformed

I think what I am getting at, and what I seem to come back to in many of these posts, is that information is a contradictory concept. Too much and we are overloaded, most of this is in actuality misinformation, but too little and we fail to understand the world around us. Overcoming information asymmetry is a matter of being open to new concepts of ideas while taking things with a grain of salt. We can't know everything, but we can overcome a great deal of information asymmetry by communicating effectively and actually debating instead of just talking at other parties with our ways set in stone.You don't have to have Masters in communication to be a good communicator. In fact I would bet most of us can do a little better than Phil Davison.