What is Knowledge?

Knowledge is personal understanding, awareness and wisdom that you gain by experiences. It’s more than just facts and information, it’s being able to process and comprehend what you’ve gathered. Knowledge is the product of learning, understanding and organizing information to draw conclusions. It’s a way for us to transfer our beliefs, values and experiences to each other.

Knowledge vs. Information

Knowledge is different from information, although you may need information to gain knowledge. Information is facts, data, and statistics. It’s facts, words, and numbers that can be found in books and other sources. Information is what we use to form knowledge, but it’s important to remember it’s not knowledge until you’ve processed it.

Types of Knowledge

There are many different types of knowledge. There is procedural knowledge, which is the ability to follow a process or perform a task. Declarative knowledge is understanding the facts and data, such as names, definitions, and vocabulary. Intuitive knowledge is an understanding of something that is acquired intuitively, such as when you first learn to ride a bike. Experiential knowledge is understanding gained through experience, such as when you learn how to drive a car.

Knowledge has traditionally been seen as objective facts and numerical data, but it’s so much more. Knowledge is understanding, wisdom, judgment, and insight we gain from sources, both internal and external. It’s the experiences we have had and the information we’ve taken in that allow us to reach deeper understanding of the world around us.