Daniela Menchaca

Professor Thad Niles

EN-103

4 May 2016

Information vs. Knowledge

Living in an increasingly technology driven society has caused our current generation to begin to rely on technologically given information as their personal knowledge bank. In our modern society whenever a question is asked, most people respond by saying, “Let me google it”, instead of taking a moment to access their own personal knowledge. Technology is an increasing industry that offers many benefits to our society; however, as we continue to rely on it as the only source of knowledge or wisdom, we take away from our personal thoughts and begin to acquire the thoughts and opinions of those writing these articles. Therefore we must always remember that it can become detrimental to mistake technologically given information for knowledge.

Personally, I view knowledge as information discussed and agreed upon by a majority of society. I also feel that knowledge must have some sort of physical evidence to back any claim that is made. Although it is nearly twenty four centuries since the Greek philosopher Plato studied the origins of knowledge, my views strongly reflect his own. Plato created epistemology as a way to theorize knowledge and the way we learn. Epistemology is the study of knowledge, our beliefs, and how we acquire those beliefs. After studying this, Plato went on to define knowledge as, “justified true belief”, in other words he viewed knowledge as individual beliefs backed by evidence that is commonly accepted. When looking into epistemology, it is easy to see where people may confuse technologically given information for knowledge. On one hand it persuades us into believing certain things, and it is so widely spread and shared that others often offer justification as to why the information is right regardless of scientific evidence.

This reliance on technologically given information is also a huge result of the growingly technology driven society we live in. In Neil Postman’s book, Technopoly, he discusses how modern societies have a culture that revolves around technology. The concept of his book highly reflects the modern society we live in today. Most people would prefer to google something instead of taking a moment to remember information that they have already learned. When people do this, they slowly lose traits that were once highly important for humans to possess. Most people automatically believe what is said regardless of what this article may actually be saying or whether it is from a questionable source. This sort of undoubted belief also plays a huge role in the detriment of assuming all technologically given information is equal to knowledge.

Although believing every article read on line is harmful, the reason for this most of the time comes back to a psychological term, confirmation bias. According to the Science Daily, confirmation bias is, “the tendency to interpret information in a way that confirms one’s preconceptions, leading to statistical errors”. When people read information online whether it is valid or invalid, they use confirmation bias and mold this information to a point where it aligns with their thoughts and beliefs. It is important that we truly research the information that technology provides before automatically assuming that it is correct.

Another issue with people assuming that information provided by technology is knowledge is the assumption that all people are capable of accessing technology. This same assumption can be related to the question of whether formal knowledge and life experiences still qualify as knowledge. In Jacob Bronowski’s video, Knowledge or Certainty, he argues that there is no universal truth and explains it by giving an example of a seeing person and blind woman. In his example he begins by looking at an elderly man and trying to describe every part of his face once he is done, a blind woman is asked to sculpt this mans face using only her hands to feel and interpret his features. In the end, the woman’s sculpture offers just as much detail as his description insinuating that these two ways of knowing are still knowledgeable whether perceived through technology or instinct. To rely solely on technologically given information is to say that those unable to access technological devices are at a disadvantage. However in reality, many times as humans begin to rely on information provided by technological devices they begin to lose their own instinctual traits.

One example of this sort of instinctual loss can be seen through the increase in the use of cameras. In our modern society when we see something fascinating or go on a roadtrip, we tend to photograph every step of the way. We do this because we believe that the photos will help us remember these places. However, by relying so heavily on cameras as a way to remember, we slowly begin to forget the actual image faster. What I mean by this is that photos only offer a snapshot of the actual detailed images we see. By relying on the superficial image taken by our cameras we lose the details of these places and the emotions felt when we visited. In a way the information and access we receive through cameras and technology takes away from our own instinctual knowledge and ability.

Much like the disconnect between photographs and memory, we can also look at the similarities between GPS navigation systems and our own personal sense of direction. Over the years, the use of Global Positioning Systems has become more and more prevalent allowing people to abandon maps, and other forms of direction and instead use GPS. Although GPS is a valuable device to help people as they navigate new areas, it is detrimental because we begin to lose our natural sense of direction. When we rely on technologically given information for knowledge we in a sense become less knowledgeable. We become lazy and prefer to look something up rather than attempt to find an answer ourselves. However, we must not be mistaken, those who are unable to access this sort of technological information are also knowledgeable, but as Bronowski proves, they are knowledgeable in a different sense.

In order to effectively access our knowledge and learn new things, we must put an emphasis on self reliance and memorization before technologically given information. By doing so, we allow ourselves to strengthen our already existing foundations of knowledge and develop new beliefs. We must be able to use our brain and personal knowledge before relying on technology. Only after this type of practice can we begin to acquire information from various technological devices. However once we begin to access information through technology we must never forget to use our knowledge and the knowledge of others to validate information that is given to us. There is a thin line between the connection of information and technology, one that should always be taken into consideration when perceiving information as knowledge.