ARM4SNS:Reputation Examples

Example

Consider the following situation:

Q: I only have a limited time budget to read books. So, in order to learn as much as possible about a subject XYZ, which books should I read? (I can't read them all due to lack of time).

A: Obviously, I do not know the books yet. So I can't decide based on knowledge. But I may have reputation information about the authors (how I liked their books in the past, or, how people who I respect a lot liked their books in the past). Using this reputation information helps me in making a decision. There is no guaranty that my decision will be right, but it improoves my chances of making a good (or, at least reasonable) decision. In other words: Reputation information helps me in maximizing the outcome (what I will have learned) of my limited investment of resources (time).

In summary, reputation is not knowledge, it is less than that. But it is more than knowing nothing. Hence, a possible pseudonym for reputation might be half-knowledge!?