Understanding Knowledge vs. Information: How Do We Distinguish and Measure Them?

Dear Seniors, could you tell me what the difference between knowledge and information is, and how we calculate that? Thanks in advance.

Dear Sachin, Greetings for the day! I'm Mohan Shashank. Very glad to see this question. These types of questions will not only raise knowledge but also wisdom. Congratulations!

Understanding Knowledge and Information

Knowledge is what can be gained through the information you have collected. There is a big difference between information and data. Data is the collection of raw facts, whereas information is the collection of processed data, and the singular of data is datum.

Moving on to our topic, when a person has sufficient information and goes through it to understand, they become knowledgeable. One's knowledge can be calculated or measured by an ancient measure called IQ, i.e., Intelligent Quotient.

I hope you understand this, and feel free to ask any queries.

Regards, Mohan Shashank

Dear Sachin, Mohan Shashank has given you a brief answer. May we please know what you do and in which industry, and why you are seeking the answer? What do you mean by "How we calculate that"?

If you had only searched the web, you would have found detailed answers at Intelligence Hierarchy: Data, Information, Knowledge, Wisdom | The Big Picture with diagrams, which can be found at Google.

If you are a student, I suggest that you read scholarly articles (I found three at the top of the Google search page).

Have a nice day.

Regards,
Simhan
A retired academic in the UK

Understanding the Difference Between Information and Knowledge

The collection of facts and data is called information. Drawing a conclusion from those facts and data is knowledge.

Example:
It's raining outside - this is the information.
I should take an umbrella with me to go outside - this is knowledge.

Understanding the Difference Between Knowledge and Information

Knowledge and information are almost one and the same. Information is details about a particular thing. When you accumulate more such information, it is called knowledge. For example, when we refer to a person as "he is more knowledgeable," it means he knows more information about something.

Someone might ask you, "I am planning to purchase a car, can you please tell me which brand I should go for?" You might reply, "Sorry, I have no knowledge on this."

You might have seen in quiz programs on TV questions like "Who won the man of the tournament in the match played in 1947?", "Who was the first Prime Minister of India?", "How much money was spent on the first five-year plan?", "Name the satellite which was first sent to Mars?" When you answer such questions and more, it means you have a collection of information and are therefore knowledgeable. We have also heard people addressing others as "yeah, his General Knowledge is very good."

However, mere accumulation of information (i.e., knowledge) will not suffice. You need to have wisdom or skill (wisdom/ability talks more about how you apply the knowledge).

An Example of Wisdom Over Knowledge

To explain this:

There was a young man going to a village to meet someone. When he got down in the village, he saw an old man (probably in his 65-70) sitting under a tree. Our young man told the old man that he arrived in this village to meet Mr. so and so and asked him how long it would take to reach his place from there. The old man did not reply. The young man asked again. The old man did not reply again. After 3-4 attempts, he got vexed and scolded the old man, "I have heard in villages people will be more courteous, more helpful, and respectful, but you seem to be arrogant, disrespectful, and have no helping tendency." Then the young man started walking towards the village. After a few seconds, the old man called him. The young man came to ask the old man what for. The old man replied that it would take 15 minutes for him to reach the place where he wanted to go.

Surprised by this, the young man asked, "I was asking you many times and asked you again and again, you never bothered to reply to me or help me, and you never answered me. Why do you behave like this?"

The old man replied, "When you asked me the question, I did not know how fast or how slow you would be walking, I never had any information about your walking speed; after watching you walk for a while, I understood, with this speed, you can reach that place in 15 minutes."

This is what wisdom or intelligence is. To be intelligent, you need not be knowledgeable also. It is basic common sense, right?

Regards,
Balaji

Understanding Knowledge and Information

Knowledge is a blend of information, experience, and insights that provide a framework that can be thoughtfully applied when assessing new information or evaluating relevant situations. Information is a body of facts that are in a format suitable for decision-making.

Source: Zikmund William G. (2003), Business Research Methods, South-West Thomson, Edn. 7, p738

However, there is no better way to understand the difference than what T.S. Eliot has said:

"The endless cycle of ideas and action,
Endless invention, endless experiment,
Brings knowledge of motion, but not of stillness;
Knowledge of speech, but not of silence;
Knowledge of word, and ignorance of the Word.
All our knowledge brings us nearer to our ignorance,
All our ignorance brings us nearer to death,
But nearness to death no nearer to God.
Where is the Life we have lost in living?
Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?
The cycles of Heaven in twenty centuries
Bring us farther from God and nearer to the Dust."

- T.S. Eliot

I have not come across any generic tool for measuring knowledge, as one has to ask, "Knowledge of what?" However, attempts have been made to measure the knowledge bank of companies and even countries. For example, see [World Bank](http://worldbank.org) where a Knowledge Assessment Methodology and Knowledge Economy Scorecard comparison between India and China is given. Found at [Google](http://www.google.co.uk/#sclient=psy&hl=en&source=hp&q=measuring+knowledge &aq=3&aqi=g5&aql=&oq=&pbx=1&fp=7ef981bdeac04a96 ).

Balaji has given an excellent example of the difference between information and knowledge.

Have a nice day.

Regards,
Simhan

Further to Mohan Shashank's reply, may I add the following explanation? If I give you a six-digit number, say 362436, you may be confused about what it means! However, if you are knowledgeable about Indian PIN codes, you will see 362436 as a PIN code of a post office in Gujarat!

But, suppose you are told (information) to pair the digits with a hyphen - 36-24-36 - wisdom will dawn on you regarding what this 'figure' means!

Regards,
Rajusiachen

Hi, the simple and clear way of differentiating the two is: knowledge will reflect in the actions of the person, and information will be evident in the words.

How to Calculate

Now, how to calculate is as subjective as the question itself. In my opinion, there is no mathematical formula to calculate. However, with your experience and collaboration, you can deduce the outcome.

Thanks,
VM007

Understanding Data, Information, Knowledge, and Wisdom

An IT person shared this definition of Data & Information a couple of decades ago: Data is Unprocessed Information, and Information is Processed Data.

1. A Dictionary is Data of words with their meanings.
2. Putting these in a meaningful way to narrate an incident is like providing Information.
3. Knowledge and understanding are required to analyze or write a critical review of the repercussions of the incident.
4. Wisdom is the deep understanding to choose between right and wrong and applying the knowledge to make a correct decision.

We see it in the Share Market as well.

Examples in the Share Market

- Data: Company share behavior (prices) over the last 6 months, for example.
- Information: Someone would create a graphical presentation to observe upward and downward trends in the share.
- Knowledge: The experts' comments on why the market is behaving in a particular way, considering the 'Share' behavior not only of a single company but the entire market.
- Wisdom: By utilizing these, along with other hidden parameters, one can engage in 'Share Trading,' buying or selling shares to accumulate wealth.

Remember, Knowledge alone is not enough to arrive at a correct decision. Success comes when execution is combined with wisdom.

We see coaches with wisdom making players successful, who execute to the core. Execution is crucial as not all players under the same coach achieve the same level of success.

Regards,
Dr. Ulhas Ganu

I would say, quite simply, knowledge is what we have now, and information is what we need to increase that knowledge.

Once you join an organization at the executive level, your knowledge will help you perform your tasks. However, for making further strategies, the main tool you require is information. Information is the source on which strategies are formulated.

Regards,
MANJIT NADAR
MBA (LONDON, UK)

Understanding the Difference Between Knowledge and Information

Knowledge is an unstructured form of information. When we talk, we might say someone has good knowledge, and once we acknowledge this, we can gather information from them. That is the difference. Knowledge will be transferred in the form of information.

Regards

Difference between Knowledge & Information

Data, information, knowledge, and wisdom are four steps in learning practically anything. Data is a collection of facts at random. Arranging and classifying data makes it useful information. Being able to draw certain conclusions with the help of available information and understanding or predicting events is knowledge. Wisdom involves a change in thoughts and behavior upon gaining knowledge.

For example, collecting names, ages, seasons, and reasons for a particular disease constitutes data. Arranging this data according to reasons, age, etc., provides us with information about the causes of the disease. By applying the mind, logic, and using the information, we can draw conclusions regarding the disease's causes, make predictions about its spread and control, etc. Wisdom comes into play when we change our food habits and take preventive measures. This concept is applicable to all fields of life.

Regards,
YOGESHCHANDRA