Having information does not mean you actually understand it.

For full experience we highly recommend going to your music provider and play “Norman Fucking Rockwell! | Lana Del Rey” (link to Spotify!) as you are reading this, promise it’s worth it. Ok back to the topic now!

 

When thinking about this topic, it’s clear that there are countless outlets for information; social media, everyday interactions, news, and more. The thing with today’s algorithms is that almost anyone can access massive amounts of info, If you just memorize it like a school test, you can repeat stories to millions of people, whether they’re fully accurate or tweaked for virality.

Over time, this information spreads through shares and comments, blurring the line between having facts and truly understanding them.

True understanding means making connections. It’s knowing how events link together, seeing the progression that led to a specific outcome. It’s not just sharing because everyone else is talking about it, but rather sharing because you can add perspectiveor insights to the conversation or the industry you’re operating in. Understanding goes beyond repetition; it’s comprehension in action.

It’s human nature. The more resources we have, the more we’re inclined to believe we know more; but that’s not true at all.

It’s like having access to the best pattern makers and sewing team. If you don’t know the basics yourself, it means nothing. It becomes obvious that you don’t fully understand what’s happening, and you can’t get the most creative output from your team.

Take someone like Rick Owens. He was a pattern maker himself, and when you revisit his work, it all makes sense. The drapery, the technicality of the garments - he understands it, he doesn’t just know it. That’s the difference.

It starts in school, where we’re pushed to memorize things instead of understanding them. That habit often carries into adulthood, where we continue memorizing without fully engaging with what we’re learning.

Then social media enters the mix. With a constant influx of content, we’re encouraged to scroll fast, rarely pausing to understand or consider context. The result is the illusion of comprehension, built on repetition rather than insight.

oh wow, experiemnet time - lets do it, cool.

Open Facebook, Instagram, and X. Scroll through each for five minutes. Ask yourself how many times you disagree or wonder, “What is this? Why am I even watching it?” Then check how many of those videos have full context. Close to zero, right?

Creators know people scroll mindlessly. They know that if you’re not familiar with the topic, you won’t pause to question where the info came from or what’s missing. And our friends, yeah, that’s another layer. Instagram alone had 3 billion monthly users as of September 2025. The world population is 8.3 billion. Do you understand what that means? Now think about how many reels are being created every day. That’s the problem: knowing something isn’t the same as understanding it.

Now that we’ve established the landscape, let’s look at the economics behind it.

There are two sides here: the consumer and the brands, with the creator in the middle. With legacy media losing influence, most power now sits with the creator. In fashion, at least, creators often drive consumer behavior and decisions.

Currently, with legay media losing it’s power - most power lays in the middle man - the creator, and that means that creators control majority of decisions when it comes to fashion at least, you might say consumer behavior.

Consider Situation A.

A creator is new to fashion. Knowledge is available everywhere online, but true context takes time to earn. Instead of taking that time, they go for rage bait; claiming something ungrounded in facts just for virality. Let’s say they cover an event in the fashion industry without context. The content blows up: 2 million views, 100,000 likes. If 20 percent of those people are consumers ready to buy, their behavior is now swayed by information that wasn’t fully accurate. That’s the cost of information without understanding.

Situation B. A creator who has been in the game avoids rage bait because they understand the craft. They dig into the details, provide context, and build knowledge into their content. Their post might get only 20,000 likes, but it’s built on real understanding and meaningful influence.

So, who is more valuable? If success is measured purely by metrics, the system rewards the first scenario. That’s the problem. Metrics don’t capture comprehension, they only measure engagement. The economics favor virality over understanding, and that’s why the gap between information and understanding persists.

To combat this, and for our own sanity, it’s important to consume media purposefully. Dive into articles, read more, listen carefully, and don’t fall for the trap of short-form content. No one can truly teach you something in under 60 seconds, especially when most of the craft is hidden in what comes after the first few seconds.