SLO Entrepreneur

Learning is the acquisition of data, information, knowledge, understanding, and wisdom.

And what are those things?

Data consists of symbols that represent objects, events, and their properties. For example, the speedometer in a car presents data.

Information is data that has been made useful. Information answers who, what, where, when, and how many questions. Information is helpful in deciding what to do, not how to do it. For example, the information that you are driving at 120 mph will help you decide whether to speed up or slow down. But information won’t tell you how to do it.

Knowledge consists of instructions and know-how. Knowledge answers how questions. For example, your driving knowledge tells you how to control the car’s speed.

Understanding consists of explanations. Understanding answers why questions. For example, you understand why you are in the car in the first place: because you are driving your kids to get ice cream.

Wisdom is the ability to perceive outcomes and determine their value. It is useful for deciding what should be done. For example, the wise may decide that driving recklessly may lead their children to do the same in the future.

If it isn’t obvious by now, an ounce of wisdom is worth a pound of understanding, an ounce of understanding is worth a pound of knowledge, and so on. For example, it is more important to understand the value of what you’re doing than it is to know how to do it. More to come.

Note: This series of articles is paraphrased and stolen from Russell Ackoff’s Re-Creating the Corporation.