3 ms·

> Because bits are a unit of information, not knowledge. Not the same thing. How can knowledge not be a subset of information?

• lisper 7y ago
  Well, it is, but it is not just a subset of information. The distinction between knowledge and information is very tricky to get a handle on. Philosophers argue about it all the time. For example, here is some information: "I am wearing a white hat." Is that information also knowledge? Well, it depends. It depends, for example, on whether or not I am in point of fact wearing a white hat, because if I'm not then you cannot possibly know that I am wearing a white hat despite the fact that I have just given you that information. That information may or may not correspond to reality, and one of the things that distinguishes knowledge from information is that knowledge has to correspond to reality in order to qualify as knowledge, and information need not correspond to reality ("false knowledge" is an oxymoron but "false information" is not.) But there's more to the distinction between knowledge and information than mere correspondence to reality. If I am in point of fact not wearing a white hat, the information above does not magically transform itself into knowledge if I suddenly put on a white hat.
  • mirimir 7y ago
    OK, knowledge is too poorly defined. So the answer to TFA's question is "It depends".
    • lisper 7y ago
      Actually, my hand-wavy answer would be: "probably a lot more than you would naively suspect." :-)