Signal-to-noise Ratio The ratio of useful or true information to false or irrelevant data

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The term “signal-to-noise ratio” is a useful metaphor when discussing the pollution of the information ecosystem with misinformation, disinformation, or situations where much of the information available is irrelevant.

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No truth is without some mixture of error, and no error so false but that it possesses no element of truth.

If a man is in too big a hurry to give up an error, he is liable to give up some truth with it, and in accepting the arguments of the other man he is sure to get some errors with it.

Honest argument is merely a process of mutually picking the beams and motes out of each other’s eyes so both can see clearly…

Men become wise just as they become rich, more by what they save than by what the receive.

After I get a hold of a truth I hate to lose it again, and I like to sift all the truth out before I give up an error."

Credit: Wilbur Wright

A signal-to-noise ratio is a measure most frequently used in science and engineering, comparing the level of a signal to the background noise level.

But it can be used as a metaphor and has another everyday meaning that refers to the ratio of useful or true information to false or irrelevant data in a document, a face-to-face conversation, or an online discussion.

• Signal: useful or true information.
• Noise: false or irrelevant information.
• Signal-to-noise ratio: The ratio of useful or true information to false or irrelevant information.

In this context, the ratio is rarely an exact measure, but you might say, for example, that the signal-to-noise ratio of online discussions in, say, Facebook or Twitter is low. In other words, there is a lot of misinformation or disinformation on these platforms or just a lot of noise.

You might even say, “there is not much of a signal in these discussions”. In other words, there is not a lot that is true or not a lot that is useful.

In a conversation on a new or difficult topic, where you struggle to make sense of something, 95% may be noise (false or irrelevant information)  and only 5% signal (useful or true information).

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In any conversation where we are trying to make sense of things, one of the key strategies is to increase the signal-to-noise ratio. Also, not to come to a premature conclusion.

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Detailed Resources

• The Guardian: The collapse of the information ecosystem poses profound risks for humanity by Lydia Polgreen (2019)

Posts that link to this post

•  Using the Concept of Signal-to-noise Ratio as a Metaphor The ratio of useful or true information to false or irrelevant information
•  We Can Learn From Anyone There is always some signal
•  Three Disturbing Things I Learned This Month That may or may not be true

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