What Are the Different Types of Information Assimilation?

Wondering what information assimilation is all about? This guide introduces the different types that can help you process data effectively and efficiently. Discover them now!

Information assimilation is the process of comprehending, integrating and understanding data. It involves breaking information down into smaller pieces and organizing it for easier consumption. There are different types of information assimilation that have their own uses and advantages to help you process data more effectively and efficiently. Read on to learn more about these information assimilation types.

To start off with: Your particular information assimilation is embedded in your design. Yes, your Human Design.

There are a number of different ways how people learn, process and assimilate information into their brain. As all in life, each of these different types come with their advantages and challenges. If you get to know your own unique assimilation style you will be able to maximize your own learning. Furthermore, each style has its own pace. So if you have ever wondered why „the others are so fast or slow in grasping the data“ there’s the reason. This information can help you to respect your own speed and can give you a relief if you are on the fast or slow side.

The information assimilation style can give you as well an indication which work environment is more stipulating for your particular style.

In the following you can find the different information assimilation styles that are embedded in the Human Design of a person.

Independent

As the word already indicates, you are designed to work by yourself and process information independently from others. You do not need anyone else to discuss the information and you naturally feel a „completeness“ within yourself.
You have your own specific way to digest the information which is consistent and reliable.
You have a particularly unique focus and simply do not see the need to reflect on different aspects.
Your pace to digest information is rapid and you have the tendency to become impatient or frustrated if others are slower than you.
Here is your learning potential: allow others to take their time to assimilate information in their own pace. As you will see in the following styles these people may need to reflect on different aspects. And for this reflection they just need more time than you.

Collaborative

As per your design, you need to work and collaborate with others. In a math equation this could be expresses as “1+1 = 3”.
You will very likely just need more time to fully take in, process and digest information as you need the stimulus from others.
If you try to process information all by yourself or you have to take decisions all alone you may feel uncomfortable or incomplete, like some piece might be missing.
Being with others and discussing with others might help you tremendously to achieve a sense of wholeness – “yes, I have looked at various angles of the information now”. So take your time, discuss with others, allow the information to sink in.
Spending time in public places (like coffee corners in the office, team gatherings for lunch, etc.) gives you new perspectives and can assist you in the assimilation process.
And remember, there is a great advantage of your collaborative style: once you have processed the information you usually have looked at it from many different angles and you get it at a much deeper level than someone with an independent assimilation style.
Your learning potential: be patient and do not feel pressured by the other types. Your own pace is absolutely ok.

Synthesizing – Interacting with a variety of people & places

You are designed to synthesize information from a variety of different sources and a variety of different people.
Similar to a collaborative style you need other people and places as a stimulus – but even more so. You very likely feel the most energetic when you move around, work with and interact with a variety of different people throughout your day.
Working with the same person in the same place every single day feels like imprisonment for you.
As a consequence, you may have a tendency to be impatient or your actions and decisions happen too soon- which in turn makes you unhappy.
Your learning potential: You will need patience to synthesize the necessary information for you before taking any action.

Subjective – In a slow fixed way

When you have a subjective information assimilation style you are very fixed in the way you process information.
Your own experience comes into the picture and “dictates” how you process information.
Other people will have to adjust to your style rather than you adjusting to them. You might appear therefore less flexible.
You likely have your “favorites”; a few people that you connect to and that you allow to be close to you.
A forced small group environment makes you feel uncomfortable when you could not choose the members.
You need a diversity in order to allow you to sample different people and interactions.
For you it is important NOT to make quick decisions.
You need TIME: time to assimilate information from and with the right people and at your own pace. Forcing yourself to comply with other’s expectations will have negative impacts on your wellbeing.
So your key learning: take your time, do things in your pace and do not let others push you or force you.

Objective – Sampling & reflecting the environment

As per your design, you take in information in a non-judgmental objective way. You share deliberately what you have learned during the information assimilation.
The process how you assimilate information can be described as sampling, reflecting and evaluating. And it uses the environment you are in on any given day.
With your ability, you just sense an environment or group objectively. You gather information aspects that are physical, psychic or emotional. You just “know” who is living authentically and who is not.
You are wide open like a receiving antenna – allowing everything to pass through you as you objectively evaluate it.

Information Assimilation Style „Summary „Conclusion“

As you can see in the above, there is not only one way how people assimilate information. All of them are distinctive to a single human being. And they are embedded into your Human Design.

If you work with other people e.g. in a business team it is very likely that not everyone will have the same information assimilation style. It will help you to find out what is the style of the other person and overall support a better team communication.

As I am a person with a Collaborative Information Assimilation I would like to highlight to you what is important for me. It might help you in understanding such a person in your team a bit better.

How to interact with a person that is collaborative?

So, what do I expect and hope for in a business / team / consulting session having a collaborative assimilation style:

– I need exchange and cannot stand someone just listening to me. I need interaction with others to express my thoughts and ideas.

– Bouncing off ideas and thoughts and getting the view of the other person enriches my thinking process.

– The intellectual inspiration keeps my mental puzzle pieces floating around.

– Different places, different questions, active listening, clarification questions to explain in my words what I mean help me in grasping the entirety of information.

– I need breaks in the discussions to deviate to (possibly) different topics (e.g. when talking about a business „problem“ to sidetrack to the latest football results or my hobbies).

– My information assimilation process needs some time to look at a topic from different angles and to „digest“ the information.

– Sometimes I need to bring details, sometimes just a general overview. But then it is good to bring me back to a holistic view or from a general overview to bring me talking about more details. So it’s about grasping the „entirety“ of information or at least to a level that I think I have enough information.

– During the discussions, I love questions about my decision making (another attribute in my Human Design): „what does your gut say to that?“ This way it creates for me a „forced“ connection between my Inspiration/Conceptualization function to my Energy Resource. I have realized that this helps me to feel whether I am on the right track.

– Sometimes I feel as well like a sponge: sucking up information until I am full. And then I react.

– I love to work with other collaborative people where the information just flows. It is easy, feels natural to me.

– I feel pressured with synthesizing people since they tend to act too fast (w/o having enough information) and at the same time I love it to slow them down. And these synthesizing people have lots of information to share.

– I work as well closely with an Evaluator who has an Objective Assimilation Style. I love her evaluating questions to verify whether I really mean what I say, being a mirror for me. Especially beneficial to me to make my argumentation „bullet proof“.

– I have a hard time with independent people since I just cannot understand why „they don’t share to come to a better outcome“ (definitely still a learning area for me).

Do you want more?

Do you want to understand more what other attributes in your Human Design play a key role for your business life?

There is way more to discover for you: all your very individual attributes that allow you to „just feel right“ at the work place, in the team and in the business.

Reach out to me. I will be happy to assist you in finding it out with you.

If you have become curious now, have a look as well into my other articles, e.g.

„Why the individual is the new hero of business“ gives you further details on three different types in the business context.
„The Power of Human Design in Business“ explains why the human being is the center of all. It provides a view at this center piece from a working environment perspective. A human being and his contribution in a working team.

Or do you think this is all nonsens and it sounds weird?

BUT: what if this is a possibility to really understand yourself and your workforce as human beings with all their traits, potentials and capabilities? Isn’t that what you are looking for?

Explore it for yourself or for your team. Hear about it, see it and feel it. You have nothing to lose and lots to win.

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