3 Ideas in 2 Minutes on Knowledge About Knowledge
Three Types of Knowledge, the Streetlight Effect & True Wisdom
I. Three Types of Knowledge
Senior lecturer in intelligence studies Charles Vandepeer on a common typology of knowledge:
A popular approach is to divide knowledge into three types:
Knowledge about something (knowing that): facts, propositions, theories (e.g. how many days in a year, the chemical formula for water, who is the Prime Minister of Australia, the theory of relativity, what are the capabilities of an armed force)
Knowing how to do something: a skill or task (e.g. use a computer, ride a bike, send an email, read a book)
Knowing by acquaintance: somebody or something we have personally experienced (e.g. our best friend, eating chillies, the smell of a rose)
—Charles Vandepeer, Applied Thinking for Intelligence Analysis
II. The Streetlight Effect
The Streetlight Effect is an observer bias whose name can be traced back to a common joke:
A policeman sees a drunk man searching for something under a streetlight and asks what the drunk has lost. He says he lost his keys and they both look under the streetlight together. After a few minutes the policeman asks if he is sure he lost them here, and the drunk replies, no, and that he lost them in the park. The policeman asks why he is searching here, and the drunk replies, “this is where the light is”.
—David H. Freedman, Wrong: Why Experts Keep Failing Us
The Streetlight Effect does not only apply to the drunk. Political scientist Robert Jervis explains why:
Just like the drunk who looked for his keys not where he dropped them, but under the lamppost where the light was better, people often seek inadequate information that is readily available, use misleading measures because they are simple, and employ methods of calculation whose main virtue is ease.
—Robert Jervis, The Drunkard’s Search
III. True Wisdom
British philosopher Alan Watts quoting ancient Chinese philosopher Lao-Tze to point out the difficulty of describing the indescribable:
‘Those,’ in the words of Lao-Tze, ‘who know do not say. Those who say do not know.’
And yet he said that.
—Alan Watts
🐘
Have a great week,
P.S.: Check out my latest post on the Top 25 Interesting Ideas and Concepts Everyone Should Know
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