Too Big to Know

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
By David Weinberger
Basic Books, 2011, 231 pages, Nonfiction

Dr. David Weinberger is the author of several books mostly discussing the effect of the internet on our ideas. His latest book, Too Big to Know, examines how the instantaneous, collaborative, social, and hyperlinked nature of information in the age of the internet has fundamentally transformed how people acquire knowledge.

Using several enlightening examples, Weinberger explores the knowledge that can be gained from unbound networks that form the internet. Before the internet, knowledge was sought from experts and the structure of books shaped and filtered knowledge. But the internet scales indefinitely meaning with today’s instant access to these immeasurable amounts of data, any person; amateur or expert is able to explore new possibilities and new solutions to any issue.

This is a quick read that I found this to be a fascinating topic. I would highly recommend it to those interested in the way the future is changing or those interested in learning and how we gain knowledge.

AJ