4-1-08

Weinberger

Digital Society
we don't think about how we organize things
the solution to too much information is more information

The organization of information:

• first order: physical
• second order: paper, such as a card catalog
• third order: electronic tagging, you can put things in many categories and describe, metadata
• 
  

Library systems:

• Dewey decimal (usually K12)
• Library of Congress
• Ranganathan invented a multiple categorizing system

what conclusion does he draw from looking at the ways we organize knowledge?

• we use top-down category systems
• we have accepted there is a right way to organize things (?)
  
• there is organization implicit even in computer folder systems
• if we have a third order system we don't have to care about the second order systems

information is moving from journals to the web
some people like it and some people hate it
open (free) access to information is the more significant fight
in science now the author pays for publication instead of the reader

different ways to organize information:

• linear chapters in some kind of logical order
• encyclopedia--a set of topics in alphabetical order
• or organize those same topics topically
• chronologically by topic or by when it was written
• by order of size
• by writing style (or types--history, poetry, ...)
• move what people have found useful to the top of the list
• organize it in the order in which you would need the information
• use a campus map as an index--click on location and get appropriate information
• alphabetical index
• a tree organization is very different from a linear organization
• you can organize it as a table or matrix
• you can organize it as a web--all you need is links
• we can organize information visually in lots of ways
  

we don't bother to figure out how the information is organized any more, we just do a Google search
the world we live in determines how it is efficient to organize information
we are so used to having to organize everything in first and second level information
what could we do if we started again from the ground up
interconnections give us more, web or third order organization makes it easier to make connections

reliability, authority, validation of information

the Dewey way of doing things (someone organizes for you) is not the best
if information is miscellaneous what are the disadvantages?
people who are not competent may change the system
blogs are the classic case of information that is not validated in any way
heirarchical organization is efficient if you know what you want
how do you choose what information to pay attention to?

• you can tell the people you shouldn't listen to
• at least most of the time

our traditional system is based on expert screening of information
peer review system--people who are scholars in the same specialty
that can mean the insiders decide what counts

the web breaks up this old system of authority
why not go to direct information rather than professional information
non-professional sources may be more opinion, accuracy will vary more,
if you want perceptions and opinions the non-professional sources are good sources
professional work can be replicated more
that is what they are used to
each profession has its own social and knowledge customs--you have to learn those to be an insider

is the whole system of validated information falling apart?
you still need accrediation in most fields
it is an efficient way of getting what?  knowledge, exposure, reputation, credibility
gives you a more diverse education than you would get on your own
education is more standardized than learning on your own
you need to be able to function in a society
college is an important step in learning to be responsible for yourself

if we just need to learn the facts that may be efficient to do on line
but education is about more than that