We have met the Devil of Information Overload and his impish underlings, the computer virus, the busy signal, the dead link, and the PowerPoint presentation.
James GleickRead
Information is not knowledge, and knowledge is not wisdom. Reading - even browsing - an old book can yield sustenance denied by a database search. Patience is a virtue, gluttony a sin.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Information is different from knowledge, and knowledge is distinct from wisdom, emphasizing the depth of understanding gained through experience.
In this quote, James Gleick highlights the distinctions between information, knowledge, and wisdom. He asserts that mere data or information does not equate to true understanding or wisdom, which comes from deep reflection and experience. Gleick also suggests that traditional sources of knowledge, such as books, can provide insights that quick searches in modern databases may miss, thus encouraging a deeper engagement with content. The mention of patience and gluttony further underscores the value of discernment over haste in the pursuit of knowledge.
Themes
InformationKnowledgeWisdomReadingPatienceExperience
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a speech about the importance of critical thinking in education.
More from James Gleick
All quotes →A good part of 'The Information' is about the transition from an oral to a literary culture. Books effected such a great transformation in the way we think about the world, our history, our logic, mathematics, you name it. I think we would be greatly diminished as a people and as a culture if the book became obsolete.
James GleickRead
I'm trying to look at many, many things in modern life that I believe are going faster, and I'm trying to look at why they're going faster and what effect they have on us. We all know about FedEx and instant pudding, but it doesn't mean we've looked at all the consequences of our desire for speed.
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Everything we care about lies somewhere in the middle, where pattern and randomness interlace.
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Every time a new technology comes along, we feel we're about to break through to a place where we will not be able to recover. The advent of broadcast radio confused people. It delighted people, of course, but it also changed the world.
James GleickRead
"Half genius and half buffoon," Freeman Dyson ... wrote. ... [Richard] Feynman struck him as uproariously American-unbuttoned and burning with physical energy. It took him a while to realize how obsessively his new friend was tunneling into the very bedrock of modern science.
James GleickRead
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