What is Information?

Data: Collection of facts (opinions, demographics, statistics)

But Data is not information…

Data: Collection of facts (opinions, demographics, statistics) This may not be Information: Not this

Data: Collection of facts (opinions, demographics, statistics) Information: * A message received and understood

Data: Collection of facts (opinions, demographics, statistics) Information: A message received and understood * A collection of facts from which conclusions may be drawn

Data: Collection of facts (opinions, demographics, statistics) Information: A message received and understood A collection of facts from which conclusions may be drawn * Knowledge acquired through study, or experience, or instruction

Data: Collection of facts (opinions, demographics, statistics) Information: A message received and understood A collection of facts from which conclusions may be drawn Knowledge acquired through study, or experience, or instruction Information as the result of processing, manipulating and organizing data in a way that adds to the knowledge of the person receiving it.

Putting all these together: Information: 1. A message received and understood. 2. A collection of facts from which conclusions may be drawn. 3. Knowledge acquired through study, or experience, or instruction. 4. Information as the result of processing, manipulating and organizing data in a way that adds to the knowledge of the person receiving it.

Information: Something that changes what you know.

Suppose you received these reports:

Suppose you already knew everything that was in them!

Would you still want to pay for these reports?

Information: Something that changes what you know.

Information: It is a commodity.

Information: It is a commodity. It is property.

Information: 1. Value Dependent upon the value of decisions that can be made with a change in what you know.

Information: 1. Value Dependent upon the value of decisions that can be made with a change in what you know. Value = Benefit - Costs

In a business sense the value of information could be Negative.

Information: 1. Value 2. Amount Not dependent upon length or complexity

Information: 1. Value 2. Amount Not dependent upon length or complexity Amount is inversely proportional to the probability of the message.

Claude Shannon

Three pictures Each has the same number of pixels

Three pictures Each has the same number of pixels So each has the same amount of:

Three pictures Each has the same number of pixels So each has the same amount of: DATA

Three pictures Each has the same number of pixels Each was judged to have the same amount of artistic and esthetical appeal.

Three pictures Each has the same number of pixels Each was judged to have the same amount of Artistic and esthetical appeal. So each as the same amount of:

Three pictures Each has the same number of pixels Each was judged to have the same amount of Artistic and esthetical appeal. So each as the same amount of: Quality

The print media stays in business by selling advertisements and influence Because…. People will be attracted to the media when they find something that they didn’t already know.

In other words… people are attracted to and buy Information Even if it is wrong!

Editors will then buy material that will sell…. This the key to doing successful PR!

Three pictures A. People enjoying a nice afternoon by an office building

Three pictures B. A map of a new high-rise business building.

Three pictures C. President Obama meeting with a real alien

Three pictures A. People enjoying a nice afternoon by an office building B. A map of a new high-rise business building C. Obama meeting an alien Which one will be worth the most money?

Three pictures A. People enjoying a nice afternoon by an office building B. A map of a new high-rise business building C. Obama meeting an alien Which one that has the lowest probability!

Information: 1. Value 2. Amount 3. “Goodness” Ability to be used to make correct decisions.

“Goodness” Ability to be used to make correct decisions. Reliability

“Goodness” Ability to be used to make correct decisions. Reliability Validity

“Goodness” Ability to be used to make correct decisions. Reliability Validity Relevancy

“Goodness” Ability to be used to make correct decisions. Reliability Validity Relevancy Currency

“Goodness” Ability to be used to make correct decisions. Reliability Validity Relevancy Currency Sufficiency

“Goodness” Ability to be used to make correct decisions. Reliability Validity Relevancy Currency Sufficiency Efficiency Arrange six matchsticks to form four equilateral triangles.

Information: 1. Value 2. Amount 3. “Goodness” 4. Evaluation

Information: Evaluation Who produced it?

Information: Evaluation Who produced it? When was it produced?

Information: Evaluation Who produced it? When was it produced? How was it produced?

Information: Evaluation Who produced it? When was it produced? How was it produced? How was it analyzed?

Information: Evaluation Who produced it? When was it produced? How was it produced? How was it analyzed? Why was it produced?

Information: Evaluation Who produced it? When was it produced? How was it produced? How was it analyzed? Why was it produced? Who benefits from this information?

Information: Evaluation Who produced it? When was it produced? How was it produced? How was it analyzed? Why was it produced? Who benefits from this information? Why is this information available to me?

Information: Warning signs:

Information: Warning signs: 1. Confirms what you have always known.

Information: Warning signs: Confirms what you have always known. Confirms what you WANT to believe.

Information: Warning signs: Confirms what you have always known. Confirms what you WANT to believe. Contradicts what you have always known.

Be mindful of how information is presented; the same thing can be said (or seen) in different ways each suggesting a different effect or outcome.

Let’s give it a try….

Campaign Trail news | news Obama opens 14-point lead in new poll CBS News/New York Times survey shows larger gap than other polls. USA Today 10/15/08

CBSNYT POLL: 'OBAMA HAS 14-POINT LEAD'... ZOGBY WEDNESDAY: OBAMA 48.2%, MCCAIN 44.4%... NOT SURE 7.4%... RASMUSSEN: OBAMA 50% MCCAIN 45%... 10/15/08

Let’s look at current polls:

Information: Warning signs: Confirms what you have always known. Confirms what you WANT to believe. Contradicts what you have always known. Is GOOD THINK.

Information: GOOD THINK: The “proper” way to think about any topic. The “politically correct” way to think. George Orwell book “1984”

GOOD THINK: The “proper” way to think about any topic. The “politically correct” way to think.

Global Warming

Global warming demands US attention

Inhofe Defends ‘Global Warming Is The Greatest Hoax’ Comment: ‘I Think I Was Right’

Global warming demands US attention Inhofe Defends ‘Global Warming Is The Greatest Hoax’ Comment: ‘I Think I Was Right’ Candidates must face global warming

Global warming demands US attention Inhofe Defends ‘Global Warming Is The Greatest Hoax’ Comment: ‘I Think I Was Right’ Cycle just might be cooling trend Candidates must face global warming

Global warming demands US attention Inhofe Defends ‘Global Warming Is The Greatest Hoax’ Comment: ‘I Think I Was Right’ Cycle just might be cooling trend Candidates must face global warming Ecologists raise global warming alarm at UN

Global warming demands US attention Inhofe Defends ‘Global Warming Is The Greatest Hoax’ Comment: ‘I Think I Was Right’ Cycle just might be cooling trend Candidates must face global warming Ecologists raise global warming alarm at UN Danish Meteorological Institute Data Show GREENLAND ICE MASS BALANCE HAS GROWN IMPRESSIVELY Since 2014 In the 2014/2015 season the daily course and accumulated ice mass development on Greenland measured in gigatons since September 1, 2014 is showing a mass growth (lower chart) of around 200 gigatons, or 200 cubic kilometers.”

Pay no attention to global-warming alarmists Five strange, terrifying consequences of global warming Global Warming and Carbon Dioxide Ethics UW prof proposes cloud experiment to fight global warming

Minimum Wage Does it Help or Hurt?

Minimum Wage Does it Help or Hurt?

Hurt: One of the most debated questions about the minimum wage is whether businesses will simply make do with fewer workers if they have to pay them more. There have been numerous studies on this question, with academics coming down on both sides of the issue. A two-decade literature review by a University of California at Irvine economist and a member of the Federal Reserve Board, published in 2007, found that a hike in the minimum wage did hurt the job chances of low-wage workers. A separate 2010 paper, prepared by economist Joseph Sabia for the Employment Policies Institute, a conservative think tank, likewise found that a higher minimum wage drove down GDP in low-skilled industries.reviewpaper Help: But there seem to be just as many if not more studies on the other side. A February 2013 literature review of four different studies by a senior economist at the liberal-leaning Center for Economic and Policy Research found that raising the minimum wage had no effect on hiring.literature reviewPolicy Hurt?: Economist Romer makes a couple of interesting points about the potential unintended consequences of a higher minimum wage: There is evidence that higher wages lower turnover, which can raise productivity and be good for employers. Apparently the data is inconclusive on this point, but it could be that higher wages attract more productive workers who tend to be more affluent. They could be spouses who don’t really need the work or retirees who could also manage without it. But those workers might wind up taking jobs from more disadvantaged candidates. Employers also sometimes raise the money they need to pay higher wages by hiking prices. If those employers are McDonald’s or Walmart, that could again burden disadvantaged families, since they are the ones who eat and shop there. Susan Adams Forbes 11/11/13 Minimum Wage Does it Help or Hurt?