[Sigia-l] Data, information, knowledge, wisdom

[Thomas Quine]

I have a heuristic I use to explain the difference between these terms
to clients. Of course this is not the last word on the matter, but I
find this structure offers some insights and works for my purposes...

Intelligence (defined in the dictionary as: "the ability to comprehend;
to understand and profit from experience") proceeds from data, to
information, to knowledge, to wisdom.

Data = facts, more precisely a symbolic (for example alphanumeric)
representation of a physical reality.

For example: 010101

What is this? A binary number? A password? A pattern? Alone and out of
context, data is quite meaningless.

Information = data in context, i.e. "in formation"

For example: January 1, 2001.

Now that it's in the form of a date, it becomes a piece of information.
It has meaning in and of itself, but it's still not terribly useful on
its own.

Knowledge = Information that is usable, that has a use-value.

For example: "January 1, 2001, is my wedding anniversary." (It actually
is, by the way...)

A mere date on its own has little use-value. It is information, but one
could hardly consider it knowledge. Information is only worthy of being
considered knowledge once it becomes actionable.

Wisdom = Knowledge applied.

For example: "January 1, 2001, is my wedding anniversary, and I've
already bought my wife a thoughtful present I know she'll love."

Note that wisdom is borne of experience, often of the bitterest sort...

- Thom Quine