Data and Wisdom

Internet Claims

I came across three interesting claims whilst searching the internet this week, I thought I’d share them with you…

Claim 1:

90% of the world’s data was created in the past 2 years ~ Science Daily

Claim 2:

An ounce of information is worth a pound of data
An ounce of knowledge is worth a pound of information
An ounce of understanding is worth a pound of information
An ounce of wisdom is worth a pound of understanding ~ Russel Ackoff

Claim 3:

You shouldn’t believe everything you read on the internet ~ Winston Churchill

Interpreting the claims

The claim that I believe most is Winston Churchill’s — though it is often misattributed to Abraham Lincoln.  I guess there is a grain of truth in the others.

It is hard to prove that 90% of the worlds data has been generated in the past couple of years. Though on a purely personal level I am leaving a trail of numbers a mile wide behind me.  Somebody somewhere is collecting data about the books I read, the music I listen to, the trains I catch, the steps I take and lord knows what else.  Data that never existed before.  It sounds like a reasonable estimate.  So let me generalise.

There is an awful lot more data about

Likewise if I take Mr Ackoff’s claim to its logical conclusion I can state that wisdom is 65,536 more valuable than data.  I guess we could have a long debate about the validity of that as well.  However it is questionable how much wisdom you will gain from the fact that I have walked 11,419 steps so far today. So let me generalise again:

Data by itself doesn’t tell you much

Logical sleight of hand

Let’s make a couple of assumptions:

1. Wisdom comes from data
2. The relationship between available data and available wisdom is constant

Then it is possible to prove that the increase in available data has resulted in a proportional increase in available wisdom.

Or to put it another way:

An awful lot more data leads to an awful lot more wisdom

Which begs a question

Are you using the extra data?  Because somebody else is.

Wether or not they are using it wisely is another question entirely.

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