Re: Some interesting economic facts

["Katharine M.J. Osborne" <kosborne@rocketmail.com>]

---Matt Deatrick <mattd@shocking.com> wrote:
>
> 	It is little known, and "they" are keeping it a secret.
But there
> is an interesting economic twist on this whole
"informational economy"
> idea. 
> 	Economics is based in the idea of scarcity; economics
is the
> science of discovering how to allocate those scarce
resources. The basic
> assumption: I eat a can of soup, there is less soup for
you. Information
> escapes this dillema. When I provide you with access to
information, you
> probably provide me with information. Rather than
degrade the amount of the
> resource, it actually expands due to its
"consumption"(sharing is a better
> word). Even if you do not provide me with access to
information, you have
> gained knowledge which you may pass on, etc.... To
infinity and beyond.
> 	The point I am getting at is this: an information
economy is a
> contradiction of terms. Information should be, and by
definition is, a
> public good. The theory of public goods states that my
consumption does not
> affect your consumption, sounds like information!

 -snip-

This is a valid point, nut I think that it is a little too
simplistic a view of the situation. Information is not
just one nebulous resource, it is a menagerie of different
entities each of which interacts in real society
differently than one another. Each type of information
affects real situations in different manners, and have
different percieved values.

There are quantifiable, empirical facts, opinions,
disinformation, misinformation, rumors, heresay, slanted
journalism, video footage, oral history, myths, legends,
radio broadcasts, politcal speeches, press releases, mail
lists, chatrooms, commericals, wirefeed, stockquotes,
corporate databases; the list goes on and on and on.

Often we make sweeping statements about a percieved ideal
"information" that always holds the "one" truth, whether
or not we may realize it, when none such exists. In fact
the only "one truth" is that there are many, one for every
person in the world and then some.

Information does not always expand (although overall it is
doing so very rapidly). When you consider specific cases,
information can be replaced with more accurate
information, can be eliminated entirely, modified,
compressed (in non-digital senses as well). In addition,
the value of information may fluctuate depending on the
situation and other information that surrounds it, which
ultimately determines how it will change. The best analogy
for understanding the dynamics of information is to
compare it to some infinite living system.

The questions involving MS are as much of a
moral/philosophical nature as they are based in our crude
concepts of economics (or anti-economics).

-KaOs
===
*************************************
* Kathy Osborne-----ICQ UIN:3166100 *
* kosborne@rocketmail.com------KaOs *
* http://members.tripod.com/~KaOs42 *
*************************************
"Create like a god, command like a king, and work like a
slave. You have a moral imperative to change the world." 
--Guy Kawasaki
Few men have the virtue to withstand the highest bidder.
-- George Washington
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