EAN: 9780063142886

KNOWING WHAT WE KNOW - SIMON WINCHESTER GEBUNDEN

From the creation of the first encyclopedia to Wikipedia  from ancient museums to modern
kindergarten classes?this 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 math  no need for
map-reading  no need for memorization?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 Mundanaeum  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 Rene Descartes's 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?

Aktuelle Preise zur EAN 9780063142886

Produktinformationen zur 9780063142886