Outside the Walls

Outside the Walls

Share this post

Outside the Walls
Outside the Walls
Signal to Noise
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More

Signal to Noise

Richard Merrick's avatar
Richard Merrick
Jan 25, 2015
∙ Paid

Share this post

Outside the Walls
Outside the Walls
Signal to Noise
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
Share

In physics, the SNR - signal to noise ratio is the basically the power of signal (the information we want) divided by the power of noise (the information we don't want).

In our business and personal lives, maybe the same principle applies. And therein lies a challenge.

The signal we look for - things that are meaningful to us - the art, relationships, meaning and the contribution we can make, amongst many others, is pretty much a constant. when we have clarity of purpose, when we are loved, we don't go round saying I need more of it. These things are not consumables.

On the other hand, the noise in amongst which we look for signal has increased exponentially. The ability to communicate , social media, advertising, a drive to consume, and spam in all it's forms has changed our signal to noise rations out of all proportion in the last twenty years. When we don't understand that, we can lose signal altogether in trying to deal with the noise.

But there's an upside. Without noise, we wouldn't…

Keep reading with a 7-day free trial

Subscribe to Outside the Walls to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 Richard Merrick
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture

Share

Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More