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From: bwk@mbunix.mitre.org (Barry W. Kort)
Newsgroups: sci.philosophy.tech,comp.sw.components
Subject: Re: Art -> Engineering -> Science
Summary: Data -> Information -> Knowledge -> Insight -> Enlightenment
Message-ID: <71189@linus.UUCP>
Date: 15 Sep 89 01:39:33 GMT
References: <6103@pt.cs.cmu.edu> <6433@hubcap.clemson.edu> <866@metapsy.UUCP> <6894@cs.utexas.edu>
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Reply-To: bwk@mbunix (Barry Kort)
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In article <6894@cs.utexas.edu> turpin@cs.utexas.edu (Russell Turpin) writes:
 
 >     "Is one form of knowledge more 'proper' than another?  I don't
 >     see how one could say that."

 >					Sarge Gerbode

I don't know about "proper", but some forms are more useful.

When a jigsaw puzzle is assembled so as to reveal the big picture,
the information is more usable than when the pieices lay jumbled
up in the box.

Facts which are sorted and organized are more useful than a
collection of unorganized data.  We structure and organize
information by putting it into outline form, corresponding
to a heirarchical or "tree" topology.  Complex systems of
information are compiled into "semantic networks" which
have richer topology than simple trees.  Hypercard is a
good example of a tool for organizing information into a
semantic network, where you can easily navigate through
the knowledge base.  Modern computer-based thesauri are
another example of a nicely structure semantic network.

So I feel it is useful (maybe even proper) to knit pieces
of information into a fabric of knowledge.

--Barry Kort