- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
KNOWING WHAT WE KNOW EB
About this book
'A delightful compendium of the kind of facts you immediately want to share with anyone you encounter' New York Times
'An ebullient, irrepressible spirit invests this book. It is erudite and sprightly'Sunday Times
From the creation of the first encyclopedia to Wikipedia, from ancient museums to modern kindergarten classes—here is award-winning writer Simon Winchester's brilliant and all-encompassing look at how humans acquire, retain, and pass on information and data, and how technology continues to change our lives and our minds.
With the advent of the internet, any topic we want to know about is instantly available with the touch of a smartphone button. With so much knowledge at our fingertips, what is there left for our brains to do? At a time when we seem to be stripping all value from the idea of knowing things – no need for maths, no need for map reading, no need for memorisation – are we risking our ability to think? As we empty our minds, will we one day be incapable of thoughtfulness?
Addressing these questions, Simon Winchester explores how humans have attained, stored and disseminated knowledge. Examining such disciplines as education, journalism, encyclopedia creation, museum curation, photography and broadcasting, he looks at a whole range of knowledge diffusion – from the cuneiform writings of Babylon to the machine-made genius of artificial intelligence, by way of Gutenberg, Google and Wikipedia to the huge Victorian assemblage of the Mundaneum, the collection of everything ever known, currently stored in a damp basement in northern Belgium.
Studded with strange and fascinating details, Knowing What We Know is a deep dive into learning and the human mind. Throughout this fascinating tour, Winchester forces us to ponder what rational humans are becoming. What good is all this knowledge if it leads to lack of thought? What is information without wisdom? Does René Descartes' 'Cogito, ergo sum'—'I think, therefore I am', the foundation for human knowledge widely accepted since the Enlightenment—still hold?
And what will the world be like if no one in it is wise?
Tools to learn more effectively
Saving Books
Keyword Search
Annotating Text
Listen to it instead
Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Contents
- List of Illustrations
- Prologue: To Know This Only, That He Nothing Knew
- One: Teach Your Children Well
- Two: Gathering the Harvest
- Three: This Just In
- Four: Annals of Manipulation
- Five: Just Leave the Thinking to Us
- Six: The First and Wisest of Them All
- With Gratitude
- Glossary
- Books I Consulted
- Footnotes
- Index
- About the Author
- Also by Simon Winchester
- About the Publisher
Frequently asked questions
- Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
- Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app