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Too Big to Know
Book

Too Big to Know

Rethinking Knowledge Now That the Facts Aren't the Facts, Experts Are Everywhere, and the Smartest Person in the Room Is the Room

David Weinberger
Basic Books, 2012

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Editorial Rating

9
getAbstract International Book Award Winner 2012

Qualities

  • Innovative

Recommendation

In this skillfully reasoned work, Harvard researcher David Weinberger examines the effect of the Internet on traditional concepts of knowledge and on what it means to be a knowledgeable person. In the online world, messy yet dynamic communities of experts and amateurs discuss and analyze so relentlessly that it is almost impossible to establish a fact or draw a conclusion. Yet science and other fields make unprecedented strides. Will the Internet’s connectivity raise the world’s collective intelligence? Or will wisdom, understanding and true knowing sink to the lowest common denominator? getAbstract highly recommends this scholarly analysis of the evolving shape of knowledge to anyone whose work involves thinking about the flow of information – from librarians to scientists, IT specialists and business strategists.

Take-Aways

  • Digital media is changing the shape, evolution and perception of knowledge.
  • The traditional pyramid of knowledge is becoming a formless “network of knowledge.”
  • The structure of books and publishing shaped the nature of expertise.

About the Author

Blogger David Weinberger, co-author of the bestseller, The Cluetrain Manifesto, is a fellow at the Harvard University Berkman Center for the Internet and Society.

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    L. C. 1 decade ago
    It's a very interesting point of view about how the standard system of knowledge has changed since the Internet arrival. The main conclusion is evident: Today’s abundance of data and online information makes it difficult to know what is true and what is false. Even though I think the Internet brings us a big opportunity to learn. I wish the Internet had more educational and cultural filters, but unfortunately most of them work for commercial and economic purposes.
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    W. W. 1 decade ago
    Too much fluff. Not enough conclusions.
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    a. A. getAbstract 1 decade ago
    Wonderful read. This one really made me think and left a lasting impression. I read this about a month ago and I still think about the concepts mentioned often.