A few months ago, I wrote an article discussing a topic: "Information quality determines decision quality." Every decision we make is based on our "cognition" - the information we've already acquired. The quality of this information directly determines what we choose to do and whether we can succeed. I want to explore this topic further.

The Inequality of Information Distribution

Wealth inequality in this world is merely a surface-level outcome. The root causes are the unequal distribution of information and the cognitive differences that form based on the information each person possesses.

The inequality of information distribution manifests most clearly in educational resources. Take an extreme example: elite children in Beijing's Haidian district achieve IELTS scores of 7.0 by sixth grade and have already completed multiple study abroad trips. Meanwhile, children from remote mountains in Guizhou might graduate from university still unable to speak fluent English.

Fortunately, the rapid development of technology and social media is gradually bridging this information gap between ordinary people and the wealthy.

Everyone has the right to learn, but we cannot deny that the cognition, vision, and insights people ultimately develop are entirely different. It's like modern large language models - what ultimately determines a model's quality is the data. The quality of training data directly affects the model's final performance. The human brain is essentially an experiential model too, using past learning and knowledge to guide future decisions and actions.

Cognition: Your World Model

"Cognition" is simply the "world model" in each person's mind - your understanding of how the world operates. Zhang Yiming once said:

"Your understanding of something is your competitive advantage in that area. Other factors of production can be built, but only when your cognition of something becomes deeper do you become more competitive."

Education can change this. I remember a slogan at my middle school: "Knowledge changes destiny, education leads the future." Looking back now, this statement is profoundly correct.

The Terror of the Unknown

The hardest thing in this world is the "unknown." If you know how to do something, you'll naturally find it easier than someone who has never done it before. This sounds obvious. But what's truly terrifying isn't "not knowing how to do something" - it's "not even knowing that something exists."

The elite child in Haidian has an IELTS 7.0 by sixth grade. The child who never left the mountains of Guizhou might never have heard the word "IELTS" in their entire life.

Zhao Chaoyang once publicly discussed how to overcome procrastination: "When you're about to do anything, first run through it in your mind. Procrastination is essentially your internal resistance to something - you think it's complex and difficult. Once you've figured out a solution in your head, procrastination naturally resolves itself." This "complex and difficult" feeling is really your brain's fear of the unknown.

Choice Matters More Than Effort

Recently, phrases like "choice matters more than effort" and "physical diligence cannot compensate for mental laziness" have become popular. Is it that people don't want to think? For ordinary people, information comes from a limited set of sources: recommendations from friends, family, and mentors around them.

What truly determines a young person's future development comes at moments when no one is there to teach them what to do next. They might see peers entering big tech companies, preparing for civil service exams, going abroad to study, or starting businesses. All paths seem possible. But which one is right for them?

Deep Thinking Forms Cognition

Cognition comes from deep thinking about the information you've acquired. Other factors of production - time, capital, talent - can all be sourced with help from others. But your insight into the market and your understanding of what you're building? No one can substitute for that.

The deeper your cognition in your domain, the more you become a leader who can set a roadmap and vision for your team, unite people around a shared belief that you can make this happen.

When Information Is Asymmetric, Communication Breaks Down

A few days ago, I attended an event in Beijing. At the cocktail reception, we were randomly seated with some strangers at a table.

There's an information gap between people. When you're not in the same context, you simply cannot communicate. For meaningful exchange, both parties need different perspectives on the same topic - that's what makes conversation flow. But if you're discussing something the other person has never heard of, let alone has opinions about, the conversation dies. One-way transmission of ideas is meaningless. Communication requires shared context.

My Recommendations

1. Expand the Breadth of Your Knowledge

Continuously expand your "world model." Keep learning. Actively try new things. Life itself is a journey - use these few decades to explore as much as possible.

2. Deepen Your Expertise

In your professional domain, keep drilling deeper. Breadth gives you options; depth gives you competitive advantage.

3. Befriend People in Finance

From my observation, people in finance process massive amounts of information daily - filtering, categorizing, analyzing. Their average work intensity is no less than tech. They often have unique perspectives on information flow.

4. Information Has a Shelf Life

Information known in advance has meaning. Information about what's happening now or what already happened is far less valuable. The earlier you know, the more you can act on it.

5. Cognition Comes from Deep Thinking

Don't just consume information - process it. Your cognition emerges from deep thinking about the information you've gathered, not from the information itself.

Closing Thought

Sam Altman, founder of OpenAI, once wrote on his blog:

"The biggest competitive advantage - for both companies and individuals - is long-term thinking, with a broad perspective on how different systems in the world actually work."

Build your world model. Think deeply. And remember: the quality of your decisions will never exceed the quality of your information.