Having cut my teeth in the automation segment of our industry, I became familiar with the important aspects of signal to noise ratio (SNR) in process control early on. This concept was "borrowed" from the communications industry but applies broadly to measurement and feedback systems.
For my non-technical readers, the signal in process control is a reading from a sensor or gauge embedded in the production process. The signal is either digital or analog data that control algorithms in a control system use to send an output to a control device like a valve. The signal can be diluted with what is called noise, an obfuscation of the actual signal. High SNR is desirable, representing the true process measurement to base your control actions, while low SNR is muddied with random noise (sensor drift, electrical interference, vibrations, environmental factors) that negatively impact control accuracy. This would cause instability, waste, or even create safety risks.
There are many tools in the E&I tool bag to boost the SNR. Shielding, filters, capacitors, and any number of software enhancement of signal amplification over the background noise. In the design stage of any unit operation, SNR directly influences control robustness, therefore engineers prioritize it to ensure processes scale reliably in noisy industrial environments. If the noise begins to overtake the signal, one starts seeing chaos developing without any leads to the cause of the chaos. The more you chase the chaos with control moves to valves, pumps, actuators, drives, you will start to create more wear on those control devices lowering the operational lifespan. A viscous cycle, really.
SNR is not exactly a first principle like thermodynamics or entropy, but a derived concept in information theory that helps set the stage for the process environment we all want - just the control moves needed to fight process wear and input variability and stay in spec. To me, SNR feels like a first principle though - discerning truth amid chaos.
Because this SNR concept has been on my mind for decades, I start to see similar dynamics all around me in society, broader business, and relationships. Just like in process control, the "signal" represents meaningful information or value, while "noise" denotes distractions, distortions, and irrelevancies. Information overload is the term tossed around that explains the negative toll on decision-making and cohesion. High SNR fosters clarity and trust; low SNR breeds confusion, conflict, and inefficiency. Improvement in low SNR situations involves some serious intentional filtering.
I will share two relevant scenarios to consider how SNR can impact decision-making and/or waste in a broader context. First, let's look at government-dictated price controls. Seems like a good idea in any economy that is suffering from run-away inflation. There might be a collective sigh of relief when implemented, but price is the most critical signal in an economy. It tells you everything you need to know about supply versus demand. If you remove the most important signal, like price, then all sorts of distortions start to drain the economy even worse than prior to price controls. Between the loss of the price signal and entrepreneurial human nature, communism has never worked in history. New capacity or construction stops because artificially low prices won't justify new investments in expanding supply capacity. Oops. Now we have an allocation of finite resource problem - something that capitalism has proven to be the best at solving. Capitalism doesn't seem fair to many that lack valuable skills and relationships, but the alternative methods for allocation of finite resources is coercive and political. Capable people don't play these games, so innovation and entrepreneurship stalls. Store shelves become empty.
A second scenario to apply SNR principles is the romantic relationship market, e.g. dating apps. There are dozens of apps that exist to match people looking for relationships with one another. If you post your profile, which includes details about YOU and what you are looking for in a relationship, then others can see it and express interest if aligned. Seems logical. Except people lie to make themselves look good and attract potential relationships. Without filters for the types of people you are willing to invest time and money, you can go on many dates that lead nowhere because what's important to you in a relationship (the signal) is drowned out with opportunities for dates with just about anyone (noise.) So a savvy dating app user has to express clearly, and honestly, what is important and apply those filters to actually have any chance at finding a lasting, loving relationship. Finding a date is easy, finding a valued relationship is hard. Just like excessive control moves on a paper machine, going on too many dates is a waste of time and effort and will wear you out.
Social media, which has an outsized influence on politics, is the epitome of low SNR. It will be its downfall IMO. When the general public finally realizes noise is introduced on purpose (i.e. poisoning the well) to sow confusion and undermine cohesion on social media, it will lose its value pretty quickly. Much of that noise is not even from humans but comes from bots programmed to distort reality. It turns out, society is divided quite easily, and social cohesion is negatively impacted. Some people benefit under that scenario, thus the motivation to introduce noise.
I'll close this month's column with the advice of Timothy Leary, the counter-culture icon of the 60's and 70's that admonished society to "tune in, turn on, and drop out." That was his formula for raising the signal to noise ratio. The signal is genuine insight, creativity, and connection, while noise manifests itself through distracting clutters of conformity, consumerism, propaganda, and ego-driven illusions. Leary suggested "tune" to detect, "turn" to amplify, and "drop" to isolate. Each phrase acts as a deliberate SNR booster, transforming a foggy, low-fidelity life into high-resolution enlightenment. Seems like a good idea to me.
Whether it's life, or business, or your community, if you pay attention to the signal to noise ratio when making decisions, clarity comes through paying attention to what's known and what's true versus what's speculated, misinterpreted, or false. Those determinations are getting harder and harder to unpack. People are outsourcing that determination at their own peril.
Steve Sena (stevesena@me.com) is a Cincinnati native. He obtained degrees in Paper Science & Engineering from Miami University in Oxford, OH and an MBA concentrating in Economics from Xavier University. He's worked for a broad array of leading producers, suppliers, and converters of pulp and paper grades.
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