To begin the first chapter of his book, Too Big to Know, David Weinberger discusses the DIKW hierarchy. This hierarchy resembles the structure of a pyramid where data is on the bottom, then information, then knowledge, and on the top, in the smallest portion of the pyramid lies wisdom. Weinberger explains that to get from one level of the pyramid to the next requires the processing of the current level, for example, one must process data to get information. Weinberger then expands on the topic of knowledge, exploring different views throughout time as well as views that have continued to hold true. Specifically, he discusses the view of ancient Athens that in order to for someone to be knowledgeable they must hold opinions that are both true and justifiable. (4) Next Weinberger transitions into a discussion about the evolution of knowledge as a filter. He discusses how knowledge used to be processing and retaining things necessary to our success and filtering out unnecessary information, but now, due to our seemingly endless resources we go through information trying to retain as much as we can about something, rather than just what we need to know. Weinberger continues by discussing the need to fix our way of filtering in order to avoid the overload of information and how the control of filters is changing from experts to those closer to the general population, who we know. Then Weinberger points out that due to the influx of readily available information there is more good information, but also more bad information, there is more information readily available to prove a point, but also to contest that point. Finally, Weinberger ends the chapter by discussing the new structure of knowledge and its emergence as a wide and populous network rather than a pyramid. Through this chapter, Weinberger explores what knowledge is and its evolution through time as well as the evolution of how knowledge is used and handled.
Chapter 1 Summary: After
To begin the first chapter, entitled Knowledge Overload, of his book, Too Big to Know, David Weinberger discusses how knowledge and how knowledge is handled changes and evolves over time. He begins with the section, Triangular Knowledge, concerning the DIKW hierarchy, where data is on the bottom, then information, then knowledge, and on the top, in the smallest portion of the pyramid lies wisdom. Weinberger explains that to get from one level of the pyramid to the next requires the processing of the current level, for example, one must process data to get information. Weinberger then expands on the topic of knowledge, exploring different views throughout time as well as views that have continued to hold true. Specifically, he discusses the view of ancient Athens that in order to for someone to be knowledgeable they must hold opinions that are both true and justifiable, something that still seems to be relevant. (4) Next Weinberger transitions into Info Overload as a Way of Life, a discussion about the evolution of knowledge as a filter, how now, due to our seemingly endless resources we go through information trying to retain as much as we can about something, rather than just what we need to know, as people used to do. Weinberger continues by discussing the need to fix our way of filtering in order to avoid the overload of information and how the control of filters has changed over time; this is discussed in Filtering to the Front. Then Weinberger moves onto The New Institution of Knowledge and points out that due to the influx of readily available information there is more good information, but also more bad information, there is more information readily available to prove a point, but also to contest that point. Finally, Weinberger ends the chapter by discussing the new structure of knowledge and its emergence as a wide and populous network rather than a pyramid. Through this chapter, Weinberger explores what knowledge is and its evolution through time as well as the evolution of how knowledge is used and handled.
Chapter 1 Summary: Explanation
While revising my summary I began by writing a new first sentence. Previously my sentence was about a more specific point, so I changed it in order to express the main idea of the whole article, so that the following points I made were clearly in support of the main idea. Additionally, I added the title of both the chapter and the sections within the chapter to the summary. This allowed me to logically progress through the summary as well as provide points of reference. Finally, I reread the summary and eliminated any information that was too specific and unnecessary to summarizing the chapter, which made the summary more concise and straight to the point.
Chapter 2 Summary: Before
In Chapter Two of David Weinberger’s Too Big to Know, he opens the chapter by discussing how humans are built to stop searching for an answer once an answer is reached, so that we may search further for more information. In other words, we do not try to find the same answer four times over, we take the sources word for it, at least when the source is credentialed. Weinberger then goes on to discuss the emergence of facts and how knowledge in today’s world is built on the foundation of facts, but in the ancient world the foundation was, instead analogies, a way in which the ancients were able to draw connections in their world and explain things. Weinberger also traces the development of facts from being universals to being particulars, leading from deductive reasoning into inductive reasoning, causing scientific theories such as Francis Bacon‘s theory on gases. Next, Weinberger discusses the significance of facts, that, when used, demand trust and backup arguments; he later addresses that there are now so many facts that for virtually every fact in an argument there is a readily available counter fact. Weinberger continues to discuss the evolution of the use of facts when he discusses the 1830s, when Jeremy Bentham convinced Parliament to treat everyone in the society as equals by using facts to construct statistics in order to make decisions for the society. He then moves on to the 1890s-1930s where facts become the way to settle disputes, both local and international through fact-finding missions. Next, Weinberger discusses different types of facts that emerge through discussing Darwin’s “this is that” method of fact finding versus a service entitled Hunch, which asks questions to discover facts about you in order to use statistics to make suggestions for you. Further down the line the government creates “Data Commons,” which are data made public because they have no reason to be kept secret. Weinberger concludes this chapter by reviewing the phases of facts; he discusses Classic facts which are relatively sparse, painstakingly discovered and used to prove theories, database facts which cover a handful of fields, chosen and organized by a hand full of people, and networked facts which are facts linked to more information about the context of the fact as well as open to a network of disagreement. (38-39) This chapter discusses the emergence and the role that facts play.
Chapter 2 Summary: After
In Chapter Two of David Weinberger’s Too Big to Know, which is entitled Bottomless Knowledge, Weinberger discusses the evolution, growth, and change in availability of facts. He opens the chapter by discussing how humans are built to stop searching for an answer once a satisfactory answer (usually from a credentialed source) is reached, so that we may search further for more information. Weinberger then goes on to his section entitled A History of Facts and discusses the emergence of facts and how knowledge in today’s world is built on the foundation of facts, but in the ancient world the foundation was built on analogies, a way in which the ancients were able to draw connections in their world and explain things. Weinberger also traces the development of facts from being universals to being particulars, leading from deductive reasoning into inductive reasoning. Next, Weinberger discusses the significance of facts, that, when used, demand trust and backup arguments; he later addresses that there are now so many facts that for virtually every fact in an argument there is a readily available counter fact. Weinberger continues to discuss the evolution of the use of facts when he discusses the 1830s, when Jeremy Bentham convinced Parliament to treat everyone in the society as equals by using facts to construct statistics in order to make decisions for the society. He then moves on to the 1890s-1930s where fact-finding--missions become the way to settle local and international disputes. Next, in Darwin‘s Facts, Weinberger discusses different types of facts that emerge through discussing Darwin’s “this is that” method of fact finding versus a service entitled Hunch, which asks questions to discover facts about you in order to use statistics to make suggestions for you. In the section entitled The Great Unnailing, Weinberger discusses how the government creates “Data Commons,” which are data made public because they have no reason to be kept secret. Weinberger concludes this chapter by reviewing the phases of facts; he discusses Classic facts which are relatively sparse, painstakingly discovered and used to prove theories, database facts which cover a handful of fields, chosen and organized by a hand full of people, and networked facts which are facts linked to more information about the context of the fact as well as open to a network of disagreement. (38-39) This chapter discusses the emergence and the role that facts play in our lives today.
Chapter 2 Summary: Explanation
Chapter 2 Summary: After
In Chapter Two of David Weinberger’s Too Big to Know, which is entitled Bottomless Knowledge, Weinberger discusses the evolution, growth, and change in availability of facts. He opens the chapter by discussing how humans are built to stop searching for an answer once a satisfactory answer (usually from a credentialed source) is reached, so that we may search further for more information. Weinberger then goes on to his section entitled A History of Facts and discusses the emergence of facts and how knowledge in today’s world is built on the foundation of facts, but in the ancient world the foundation was built on analogies, a way in which the ancients were able to draw connections in their world and explain things. Weinberger also traces the development of facts from being universals to being particulars, leading from deductive reasoning into inductive reasoning. Next, Weinberger discusses the significance of facts, that, when used, demand trust and backup arguments; he later addresses that there are now so many facts that for virtually every fact in an argument there is a readily available counter fact. Weinberger continues to discuss the evolution of the use of facts when he discusses the 1830s, when Jeremy Bentham convinced Parliament to treat everyone in the society as equals by using facts to construct statistics in order to make decisions for the society. He then moves on to the 1890s-1930s where fact-finding--missions become the way to settle local and international disputes. Next, in Darwin‘s Facts, Weinberger discusses different types of facts that emerge through discussing Darwin’s “this is that” method of fact finding versus a service entitled Hunch, which asks questions to discover facts about you in order to use statistics to make suggestions for you. In the section entitled The Great Unnailing, Weinberger discusses how the government creates “Data Commons,” which are data made public because they have no reason to be kept secret. Weinberger concludes this chapter by reviewing the phases of facts; he discusses Classic facts which are relatively sparse, painstakingly discovered and used to prove theories, database facts which cover a handful of fields, chosen and organized by a hand full of people, and networked facts which are facts linked to more information about the context of the fact as well as open to a network of disagreement. (38-39) This chapter discusses the emergence and the role that facts play in our lives today.
Chapter 2 Summary: Explanation
In this revision, I needed to fix very similar things as in the first summary. I began by inserting titles of the chapter and sections. I then needed to eliminate a part where what I was saying was not fully neutral. I also needed to get rid of some unnecessary specific examples as well as repetitive reiterations and explanations of points I brought up. Finally, I realized that the main idea of the article was not at the beginning, which caused my summary to seem like a series of points proving nothing in particular, so I changed the first sentence to address the main idea.
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