An official update to the original 2005 “Shift Happens” video from Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod, this June 2007 update includes new and updated statistics, thought-provoking questions and a fresh design. For more information, or to join the conversation, please visit the Shift Happens wiki.
I recently came across this quote,
Information is knowledge, learning is wisdom.
I’m not really comfortable with this, both axioms appear to be a fallacy. So I attempted to come up with something better.
Information creates learning,
Learning builds knowledge,
Knowledge contributes to wisdom.
To me information doesn’t exist without some type of filter for organizing it. Otherwise its not useful, so by definition might as well be noise. Therefore the filter could represent some type of parallel evolution between a capacity to learn and the value of the information.
As filter(s) become more complex, we might suggest that they describe a representation of the information, knowledge emerging through the learning process. So knowledge is the result of a kind of interactive process in an environment
And finally, knowledge can contribute to, but does not always guarantee the deep insight that is wisdom.
I will think on this some more… I’m sure others have argued similar points so I should do some research. Any of you with suggestions please leave comments here.
This article I Think You’re Fat – Esquire describes the interesting insight of living with fewer intellectual filters. IMHO it’s not just about being honest with ‘others’, but as Aristotle says, “We are what we repeatedly do”. Like the author, I’m not 100% comfortable with this solution, but can see that it must be an all or nothing approach. As soon as a little bit of filtering creeps in, we find the whole house of cards reverting to the way we used to communicate. Lets face it, if you find a situation is uncomfortable, its usually because you have to adapt and change in some way to cope.
I wonder if the intellectual filters we eliminate by this approach are then replaced by a deepening emotional intelligence. Our intentions in communicating can be more clearly conveyed because there are less internal conflicts getting in the way, while our conviction/passion is more evident. Hmm…
Brandon Checketts
Liz Quilty
