Information, Learning, Knowledge and Doing

On yesterdays Skype call we discussed the concepts of information, learning, knowledge and doing.

Information is described as “facts provided or learned about something or someone”.  So information can be seen as a product of learning.  Dan interestingly described information as a tool, which is quite accurate as it’s something that we use in the development of knowledge.

In my opinion information is all around us and is the starting point and a tool towards knowledge.

Learning is “the acquisition of knowledge or skills through study, experience or being taught”.  So it is the action of becoming knowledgeable.  I think that learning is developing and cultivating the information we have been able to gather.  It has no set time limit as I also believe that learning is an ongoing process that never stops.

Knowledge is having an opinion on what you have learned.  What you feel might be right or wrong is subjective and development on whichever path you choose give you the knowledge of the finally product.

Doing is the practice of the knowledge you have acquired.  I believe that practicing solidifies our knowledge by confirming what information we already have.  We may receive new information and input this into our practice as a form of trial and error to see if we can learn deeper meaning thus creating a deeper knowledge.

Thinking about these different concepts they are very similar but stand alone in their ideals.  Like Helen mentioned they are like constellations.  They are deeply interlaced.  Although I feel there is an order to them, it is also possible to bounce back and forth and between them to allow us to evolve our understanding of each and their subjects.

 

However, what my knowledge is may differ to someone else’s, even within the same subject.  I like chocolate cake (and that is my knowledge), I can recommend that option at a restaurant, but someone else might hate it.  Which leads me to understand that, just like art, knowledge is subjective.  To be “knowledgeable” I believe, is to know and understand both sides of an opinion without bias and to understand both in great detail.

Surplus to this, I have been watching a Netflix series called “100 Humans”.  In episode 2 “The Best Age to Be Alive” they discuss learning in an experiment about memory.  Memory, in my opinion, is another tool, similar to that of information.  Using memory we can reflect on what we have learned to inform our knowledge.  Although I think that memory refers to a more short term based knowledge, as they state in the documentary that if you take a nap or sleep after gaining new information, it solidifies and you are able to retain more detail.  I learned something new, sleep supports our knowledge!