Different Kinds of Information

Permanent information teaches you what to do with expiring information.

Knowing that an investment's price fell may be out-of-date information. But knowing the long history and its impact is permanent information that will stay valuable.

... but useful to someone whose decisions are relevant to you.

For example, long-term investors can benefit from learning how and why traders make decisions. Bubbles can destroy long-term investors, and bubbles are driven by traders. It means valuing information that doesn't directly mean much to you.

Irrelevant information may provide small pieces of a puzzle that might increase your understanding of why things happen**.** For example, palaeontology offers insights about how things naturally grow too big for their own good, which has relevance in investing.

You may not use the information directly, but the information can help to understand your field better.

Every field has interesting or entertaining information. It is useless but keeps you focused, and that makes it valuable.

For example, exposure to a field in the form of blogs or CNBC may be the reason to become interested in investing, making it some of the most important information. The trick is knowing when it is entertainment and when it should influence your actions.

• Useful information when combined with other data: Information is seldom useful by itself. It is part of a bigger picture. It is crucial to have a general idea of the scene to know how the information slots into the larger picture.
• Irrelevant information in all circumstances: You will know it when you see it.
• Information that requires immediate action: This is the rarest form of information.