Info!! Information Rich, Information Poor: Improving Your Cognitive Environment

Discussions close psychology with traders tend to focus on the emotional challenges of making audio decisions inward the appear upwards of opportunity in addition to uncertainty.  Less appreciated are the cognitive challenges of trading.  Thanks inward large business office to the online medium, today's trader is non at all similar the record reader of yesteryear, hunched over a pump record spitting out transactions.  Today nosotros bring multiple screens that display multiple charts, multiple indicators gracing each chart, in addition to an endless barrage of intelligence reports, tweets, in addition to chats.  Early traders lacked timely information in addition to thus operated with really incomplete information.  Today's traders are overwhelmed past times data, with few ways of distinguishing which of the information found relevant information.

To role Kahneman's terms, nosotros pass then much fourth dimension thinking fast--keeping upwards with the information barrage--that nosotros rarely intend slowly, deeply, uniquely, creatively.  This leaves us information rich, simply information poor.

It's non surprising that a knowledgeable observer of the fiscal media such every bit Tadas Viskanta of Abnormal Returns counsels in his book that marketplace position participants should instruct on "a media diet."  In a globe swimming inward data, the challenge is focusing on the correct information, filtering out the rest.  I strongly suspect that Abnormal Returns is pop just because Tadas serves every bit an effective filter for readers.  Just every bit nosotros rely on curators to determine what to include inward museums in addition to what to exclude, nosotros rely on the curation of skilful websites to aid us channel our express resources of fourth dimension in addition to attention.

In unopen to cases, the filtering expertise of websites draws upon the wisdom of crowds:  Trip Advisor for eating seat in addition to hotel suggestions; Rotten Tomatoes for painting demo reviews; in addition to Beer Advocate for ratings of arts and crafts brews.  While the crowd may deliver wisdom close such matters every bit best IPAs in addition to regal stouts, it's less clear that it possesses a distinctive border inward areas of specialized expertise, such every bit medical diagnoses or portfolio construction.  For those needs, filtering expertise relies upon the wisdom of private skilful curators.

(A site similar Stock Twits is unique inward that it captures both the expertise/folly of crowds via social sentiment analyses in addition to the insights of experts who prepare reputations inside the community.  In a hereafter post, I volition explore the curation of tweets--a detail challenge given the sheer mass of content generated daily.)

The value of information filters is that they minimize distractions in addition to interruptions from sources with depression signal-to-noise ratios.  Research suggests that such distractions in addition to interruptions genuinely brand us dumber:  we're less able to perform basic tasks with divided attention.  Just every bit having Finding Your Optimal Environment
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