Signal Degradation as Information
When you hear about a competitive threat, ask: How degraded is the signal? Direct announcements are clear signals requiring immediate response.
Sound degrades predictably with distance due to attenuation (energy loss) and scattering (reflection off objects). Birds compensate by adjusting their song structure based on habitat. In experiments where researchers played back bird songs from different distances, birds could estimate how far away a rival was based on how degraded the song sounded - they responded more aggressively to clear (nearby) songs than to degraded (distant) ones. Birds use sound degradation as a ranging system, estimating threat level from acoustic quality.
Business Application of Signal Degradation as Information
When you hear about a competitive threat, ask: How degraded is the signal? Direct announcements are clear signals requiring immediate response. Third-hand rumors are distant signals to note but not react to. Many companies waste resources responding to highly degraded signals as if they were clear signals. Similarly, if your strategic priorities reach front-line employees as vague rumors rather than clear directives, the degradation tells you your acoustic infrastructure has too many layers.