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From: rayt@heraclitus.UUCP (R.)
Newsgroups: comp.edu,sci.edu,comp.cog-eng
Subject: Re: What to know
Message-ID: <7018@heraclitus.UUCP>
Date: 8 Sep 89 17:39:14 GMT
References: <56543@aerospace.AERO.ORG>
Reply-To: rayt@cognos.UUCP (R.)
Followup-To: comp.edu
Organization: Cognos Inc., Ottawa, Canada
Lines: 50

In article <56543@aerospace.AERO.ORG>, Russell J. Abbott writes:

> In this world of instantly accessible information that we are
> constructing I'm beginning to wonder what one should actually bother to
> learn.  That is, why know something when one can look it up using an
> information locator service?  I also wonder what the difference is
> between knowing something and knowing where to find out about something.

From a basic `fact' point of view, I see little to be gained from memorization
other than reduced retrieval time - assuming, of course, that the external
repository is always available. (There _are_ certain pathological cases where
the lack of instantaneous retrieval can inhibit the activity, e.g. dictionary
lookup - but I'll ignore such dilettantism.) However, much human activity is
spent reworking information to address new problems, impling some level of
understanding of the concepts, applicable contexts, potentialities, etc. (that
is, facts in isolation are usually of little value). Also, I doubt whether such
high-level constructs can be readily assimilated at a single sitting (i.e.
_effort_ must be expended to bring this information into cohesion with the
rest of one's experience): this is where learning is of significant value -
it is the essense of experience and (probably) wisdom. (Note that knowing
that E=IR is conceptually a datum as is knowing that a silver stripe on a
resistor indicates a maximum of 10% value variation; the difference is in
how it is _used_, and, perhaps, how the datum was arrived at.)

Retrieval time is also an issue in itself, however: unless the information
access is timely one is wasting one's time. While this is obviously the case
with skills such as driving, dancing, etc., it also pertains to information
communication: much information transfer is done on a conceptual level, that
is, the data has been processed so it can be available to be used in general
contexts - interest tends to flag if significant processing it required at
each juncture and if one must start from scratch every time one wants to do
something.

A fact base (including generalities) can be viewed as the set of current
assumptions about the world; AI has clearly demonstrated the need to have
a comprehensive fact base as well as a processing engine. Not only does
this reduce time to retrieve information, but then the high-level constructs
can themselves be wrought into more comprehensive views. This is the 
essence of personal development and creativity.

Is there a difference between knowing something and knowing where to find
out about something? Yes, it is the difference between being an idiot savant
and being a competent, fully functional, person.

							R.
-- 
Ray Tigg                          |  Cognos Incorporated
                                  |  P.O. Box 9707
(613) 738-1338 x5013              |  3755 Riverside Dr.
UUCP: rayt@cognos.uucp            |  Ottawa, Ontario CANADA K1G 3Z4