From Data to Information to Knowledge

Data, when collected and structured suddenly becomes a lot more useful. Let’s do this in the table below.

But each of the data values is still rather meaningless by itself. To create information out of data, we need to interpret that data.

Let’s take the size: A diameter of 43mm doesn’t tell us much. It is only meaningful when we compare it to other things. In sports there are often size regulations for equipment. The minimum size for a competition golf ball is 42.67mm. Good, we can use that golf ball in a competition. This is information. But it still is not knowledge. Knowledge is created when the information is learned, applied and understood.