Information is power: Denoise to see through the essence, add noise to control minds

Essays

Ancient shamans, making alchemy for the emperor, speaking of yin-yang harmony, the five elements generating each other, and the nine-turn elixir.

In reality, it’s just sulfur, mercury, and lead powder simmered together.

The terminology created by these shamans is just adding noise to information; the more mysterious the emperor feels, the more willing he is to pay.

What are experts doing?

Denoising.

Extracting the core variables of complex systems and explaining them in a way you can understand.

For example, investing.

Noisy version: You need to analyze macroeconomic cycles, industry prosperity, and use multivariate regression models to evaluate intrinsic value of companies…

Denoised version: Good companies, buy cheap, hold.

Another example: warfare. What is the core after denoising the thirteen chapters of Sun Tzu’s Art of War?

Win if you can, run if you can’t.

Why is denoising so difficult?

Because the essence of denoising is penetrating the surface, directly hitting the minimal necessary variables of the system.

Is information denoising good, and adding noise bad?

Top strategies often combine denoising and noise addition.

Zhuge Liang treating Zhou Yu.

First, he says, “To defeat Cao Cao, use fire attack,” which is denoising, directly stating the core.

Then? “All preparations are complete, only the east wind is missing,” which is also denoising.

But then he builds the Seven-Star Altar, wears a headscarf, draws his sword, and invokes the wind — that’s noise addition.

Why?

Because just saying “I understand meteorology, there will be an east wind in three days” might not convince Zhou Yu, or Zhou Yu might be jealous and want to kill him.

Adding a set of religious ritual noise turns a prediction into a mystical operation, fulfilling the plan and saving his life.

What is the most common trap ordinary people fall into?

Adding noise where denoising is needed, and denoising where noise should be added.

When learning themselves, they indulge in various complex models and thinking frameworks (adding noise), but are unwilling to master a fundamental concept.

But when trying to persuade others, they simplify complex利益博弈 into a few sentences (denoising), with poor results.

Think for yourself, strive to denoise.

Communicate externally, appropriately add noise.

The former helps you see the truth.

The latter helps you get others to follow.

Unfortunately, most people have been doing the opposite their whole lives.

Adding noise, packaging old logic into new concepts.

Denoising, applying Occam’s Razor: “If unnecessary, do not multiply entities.”

Trading ideas

GPT’s Deep Research can produce in-depth investigation reports.

X’s Grok has relatively high information immediacy.

Before bottom-fishing, using AI for a round of research and screening can be more reliable. **$TRAC **$STRAX $TRADOOR