alt Hacker NewsI don't think your example refutes the fairness heuristic at all.
The first case is completely fair because anybody else could have done the same thing without any special access required.
The second case is unfair because you had to work at the company to get access.
Okay, then imagine you overhear at a bar. Yes “anyone could have” theoretically, but not actually. In either case, you have material non-public information that your counterparty in the market does not.