In “Too Big To Know,” David Weinberger discusses how the concept of knowledge has changed from us wanting to “know our world” to us really trying to understand what knowledge truly is with the creation and increasing usage of the internet. Weinberger says our culture has viewed knowledge “as the most profound of human goals”, but knowledge has come to mean different things to everyone and that is what makes the internet the perfect foundation for knowledge to thrive and evolve. Weinberger states:
“Rather than knowing-by-reducing- to what fits in a library or a scientific journal, we are knowing-by-including every draft of every idea in vast, loosely connected webs. And that means knowledge is not the same as it was . Not for science, not for business, not for education, not for government, not for any of us.”
Knowledge is too vast and encompasses so many layers that it has to be contained in some way to be understood. By using the term, “the infrastructure of knowledge,” Weinberger is referring to the system or platform knowledge relies upon to be understood as knowledge.
Understanding knowledge infrastructure can make us better researchers because we can have the option to use multiple sources and come up with our own interpretation of what we are researching. This ultimately will allow us to come to our own conclusions and understandings of a topic. It also helps us see there is no correct way or “one-way” in approaching a subject and that we can pull information from various places to become more knowledgeable about something. Knowledge is dependent upon connection and networking.
