A need to know

THE “need to know” is usually applied to sensitive information that should be for limited circulation. Only those directly involved with implementing or deciding on an issue may secure confidential information on a need-to-know basis. Of course, there are always leaks.

Limiting access to information runs counter to its general availability.

So much unsolicited information can pop up from Viber groups, news updates, solicitation offers, and sales pitches. “Information overload” must be dealt with when getting streams of data which we neither asked for nor really need.

As in a buffet table offering one price for all you can eat, we need to skip many dishes on offer and just concentrate on a few we really like, and to which we are not allergic. Attempting to get everything on the plate, just because we can, is bound to result in a messy table, or a heart attack.

When dealing with too much information, screening becomes necessary. Here, we can follow the social rules for small talk.

When an acquaintance greets you with that general question, “How are you?,” you can skip the gory details of your life in the last six months. A simple answer will do — I’m fine. (What do you want to know?)

It is in the social setting where the phrase “too much information” (TMI) came from. This penchant for details, in private matters like health, relationships, and take-home pay, must be avoided. When dealing with the data fog of life, self-screening is called for. There is an implicit plea then to provide just sufficient information to keep the conversation flowing — you want more iced coffee?

Efficiency is achieved when a specific question is addressed to someone with the needed information. On the Internet, such a straight-to-the-point search may entail checking the source and wording of a quotation, the name of an author of a book, or the successor of St. Peter as the second pope. (It’s Linus.)

Focusing only on areas of common interest narrows the scope of shared information. Would you discuss the toxic corporate culture at the office with your cousin from Sydney at a family reunion? He couldn’t care less about your career challenges or successes.

In the matter of social graces, there is a need to avoid imposing on the short attention span of others. Maybe gossip on other relatives and effective ways of avoiding diabetes may be more welcome topics.

It is still possible to wander off into seemingly irrelevant issues. If the matter of flood control projects and unexplained wealth come up, for example, it is not necessary to enumerate the car models in the garage of the guilty parties. Just the number will do. Caution must be taken that the person one is talking too is not a beneficiary of the scam being discussed — Oh, is she your cousin?

The best way to handle information overload is to simply ignore it. Just because it’s there doesn’t mean it needs to be browsed or given attention. Like packing for a vacation, needs should determine the clothes and items to bring to avoid taking along too much. The “just in case” mentality tends to result in heavy baggage. (What if I need a tuxedo for a garden party?)

Still, the functional use of information is specific, like directions to a restaurant or the color of sneakers available in the market. Such an overly pragmatic approach to information can also be limiting. The search is specific, and the data required serves an immediate need.

What about the individual who does not look at information as merely functional and serving an immediate need?

There is the avid reader who devours books for mere pleasure. He is prepared to be surprised and delighted with areas of knowledge some may consider useless. Should he be deprived of the joys of understanding how the Roman Empire rose and fell, what caused the Spanish Civil War, or the principles of behavioral economics?

Information may be seen as already too overwhelming for individual. Leisure reading may serve no practical purpose, except to broaden the mind and expand its horizons. Anyway, there is no need to take notes. When required, information can still be brought down from the cloud.