Are people learning any given topic or experience as well as they used to, or are we becoming a society of "knowledge snippets" machines?
Think about it. When was the last time you learned anything deeply, in great detail. Chances are you don't have the time and so like most of us you opt for the snippets of this topic. This has some profound implications, for one thing you need detail to have a true understanding of anything that is remotely complex. From that follows expertise and possibly new knowledge.
I often find it very frustrating when I open up manual for some program and find vague one sentence answers that don't give me enough to go on. This makes it very difficult to search for the content you need because frequently the function required is referred to only by a graph. It is one thing to create a document for Sonic was already familiar with the particular trade that is brief and to the point. It is quite another when someone is trying to learn something new and I mean really learn it. This morning before volunteer work I was trying to determine the best way to create a visual effect in my video package. After about 15 minutes of searching through various keywords I found this entry that was less than half a page long because in order to understand it you had to refer to other pages, and you guessed it the other pages then referred to yet another set. On the explanations combine to but put together on three pages under one heading and it would've been 10 times clearer and 100 times faster. My particular task in this case require that I have available to meet all the information. You really couldn't reduce this to snippets. Yet that was obviously what the authors were trying to do because they understand that no one in the modern world will probably have the patient to read three whole pages sequentially (if you haven't noticed I'm being sarcastic here).
Sometimes in order to gain full knowledge you must put in the work. But it would've been nice if the authors of the document and realized that instead of chopping it up into ridiculous chunks which slowed me down.
Some of the rationales I've heard for this abridged version of spreading information are that "The document must be usable on a phone or tablet." That isn't any kind of ration as a matter fact it doesn't make any sense because point to find information I was after this morning on a mobile device would be very difficult because of all the jumping around. Even though it would look much longer auto from putting it all together makes much more sense since the person would have everything they need right there.
Cross indexing insanity:
There's a time when you want to cross indexing topic or add a footnote but that doesn't mean you have to load the article with disruptive links that make it hard to read and often at the same instant unclear.
What is really beginning to concern me is the effect this will have over the long run. I don't think I'm being overreacted when I see down the road this could lead to, a shallower thinking society. After all if you don't exercise the brain and mind thoroughly regularly like everything else in nature with you don't use you lose. The act of truly understanding something is one of the greatest things about being alive. That absolutely great feeling of "I understand! Knowing that you get." because your horizons expand and chances are really good that the realization will lead you on to other realisations. (I get excited just thinking about the idea right now 😀) and it makes me want to build something! Or do something new.)
I may have to start an anti-knowledge snippet campaign! What do you think?
Patrick
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