The Information Asymmetry That Makes Markets

Why markets don't equilibrate

If you can't say what you know that others don't, you're the market — not the player.

Components

1. Direct contact with the surface (customers, code, docs)

2. A weird primary source — niche forum, obscure dataset, working group

3. A pattern recognized across industries that don't talk to each other

4. A failure you survived that isn't yet a headline

How asymmetric information gets converted to leverage

1. 101

   Notice a thing most people in your field don't notice

2. 202

   Verify it twice from different angles

3. 303

   Ship a small piece of work that demonstrates the asymmetry

4. 404

   The right people self-identify as readers — career options compound from there

But what about…

And why it doesn't hold

1. “AI just democratized information. Asymmetry is shrinking.”

   AI flattened summarization, not the edge cases. The asymmetry moved one layer deeper — to weird primary sources and integrated cross-domain pattern-matching. The premium is still there; the location moved.

Generic insight vs. asymmetric insight

Practical

1. Find one primary source most peers in your field don't read

2. Talk to one person who has a real seat at the table

3. Ship one short piece that names what you saw and others didn't

Asymmetry compounds. Sameness doesn't.

• The Trust Economy