New+Page

Hey Team,
I started a new page called "Our Combined Understanding of Knowledge". What I am starting to do is categorize all our notes from the HOME PAGE and the NEW PAGE under the question headings that Stu has put out to us. Please feel free to change what I do, if you have a better plan or something's not looking right to you. Thanks, Nadine

Knowledge, to me, means that at least one person is aware of something to be true to them. I think that truth is a personal experience, and that things and realities are ever-changing for every person. In this respect, knowledge doesn't really exist, except in one own's mind, or in the minds of several individuals. The knowledge is only in my mind, and is that which I think, not that which is reality...In this sense, having knowledge of something is useless, but I think there's more to it. What do you think, Irene? I think that knowledge does imply both truth and belief to some extent, but I'm still thinking about exactly how they all interact. You can believe something that is untrue, but you cannot "know" something and say that you do not believe it or that it is untrue I think depending on what kind of information you're looking at, it will change your perception of what is considered to be knowledge. If you were reading something philosophical or religious, your perception of knowledge would be based much more of the belief side of things, rather than facts. Overall, it comes down to context. What you are observing will affect if you consider something to be just information or knowledge. The understanding of what knowledge really is comes down to belief. It could be classified as any information that you believe to be true. There are certain things that have concrete evidence to support them, that are much more matter-of fact, and therefore considered knowledge. When the information is something more belief based, your perception of knowledge really could be whatever you believe to be the truth.

Andrew: Knowledge is the collected information of an individuals experiences and education, whether that education be formal or informal. We collect information in our travels, cultural encounters, and surroundings. Some knowledge will evolve into reflex, as the owner of that knowledge repeatably puts it into practice over their lifetime. For example as a motorcyclist learns the process of driving a standard engine, selecting gears becomes unconscious; this process is thought to be reflexive and organic. Mo: Knowledge is everything a person or a society holds to be true and of merit. Knowledge can be fact or intuition; and it is an ongoing process of learning and creating. Knowledge resides in the heart, soul, and of course the brain. All of these factors have an impact on decision making abilities. The more knowledge we possess the better our ability to make decisions. A child can answer a question very simply without stress, as the amount of knowledge they possess is typically low. This can almost be an advantage, as a child is able to learn new things much faster. Scott: The root word of knowledge, know is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as "be aware of through observation, inquiry, or information...(and) be absolutely certain or sure about something". The definition of knowledge is widely disputed around the world among scholars. I would argue that knowledge is factual, stored universally, and the application of it is a matter of intelligence. As a whole I view knowledge as the retention and development of data, which is utilized to form information. That can then be applied globally by intelligent beings for means important or not. Whether you are looking at a situation, academic article or conversing with another person you encounter raw data and information daily. Thus, I believe that knowledge is not just stored in a persons mind but in any form that is capable of presenting data. Which leads me to my next point, that the application of knowledge or any process of it concerning learning, perception, association and reasoning can be better defined as intelligence. Tacit and explicit knowledge are different -in a very simple sense- by their ease of transference between people and there ability to be written down. From this statement I argue that the quality of transference is where intelligence, "the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills" comes into play (Oxford English Dictionary). Therefore, I believe that the concept of knowledge can be better defined, and its storage explained through a theory involving concepts and definitions from both knowledge and intelligence.