We may have overlooked the importance of filtering and selecting information in this day and age.
People can’t take in all the information around them. The amount of information in the real world is virtually infinite. Every sound, image, and smell that reaches you in any given moment adds up to an astronomical amount, if you really think about it.
That’s why people instinctively filter information. In a field of grass, we ignore tens of thousands of green blades and notice just one red flower, because that signal matters more. This algorithm is something nature has embedded in our DNA.
Information filtering is important for what we learn, too. Back when I worked in design, one of the things I dreaded most—and also loved most, or rather, found most frustrating yet rewarding—was pitching projects. I knew so much about them that I wanted to pour it all out to my audience: my colleagues in the meeting, managers from other departments, and other stakeholders. But trying to convey everything rarely worked well.
It was only later that I learned that communicating information also takes careful design. You have to make decisions based on your audience, their goals, and what you already know: What’s important? What must be communicated? What might be too dry? And where should you weave in something else?
In the age of AI, filtering and choosing what information to keep may become even more important—perhaps even critical.
People can’t take in all the information around them. The amount of information in the real world is virtually infinite. Every sound, image, and smell that reaches you in any given moment adds up to an astronomical amount, if you really think about it.
That’s why people instinctively filter information. In a field of grass, we ignore tens of thousands of green blades and notice just one red flower, because that signal matters more. This algorithm is something nature has embedded in our DNA.
Information filtering is important for what we learn, too. Back when I worked in design, one of the things I dreaded most—and also loved most, or rather, found most frustrating yet rewarding—was pitching projects. I knew so much about them that I wanted to pour it all out to my audience: my colleagues in the meeting, managers from other departments, and other stakeholders. But trying to convey everything rarely worked well.
It was only later that I learned that communicating information also takes careful design. You have to make decisions based on your audience, their goals, and what you already know: What’s important? What must be communicated? What might be too dry? And where should you weave in something else?
In the age of AI, filtering and choosing what information to keep may become even more important—perhaps even critical.