Knowledge vs. Information

Main Difference

The main difference between Knowledge and Information is that the Knowledge is a familiarity, awareness, or understanding of someone or something (facts, information, descriptions, skills) which is acquired through experience or education by perceiving, discovering, or learning; theoretical or practical understanding of a subject and Information is a that which informs; the answer to a question of some kind; that from which data and knowledge can be derived

• Knowledge

  Knowledge is a familiarity, awareness, or understanding of someone or something, such as facts, information, descriptions, or skills, which is acquired through experience or education by perceiving, discovering, or learning.

  Knowledge can refer to a theoretical or practical understanding of a subject. It can be implicit (as with practical skill or expertise) or explicit (as with the theoretical understanding of a subject); it can be more or less formal or systematic. In philosophy, the study of knowledge is called epistemology; the philosopher Plato famously defined knowledge as “justified true belief”, though this definition is now thought by some analytic philosophers to be problematic because of the Gettier problems, while others defend the platonic definition. However, several definitions of knowledge and theories to explain it exist.

  Knowledge acquisition involves complex cognitive processes: perception, communication, and reasoning; while knowledge is also said to be related to the capacity of acknowledgement in human beings.

• Information

  Information is any entity or form that provides the answer to a question of some kind or resolves uncertainty. It is thus related to data and knowledge, as data represents values attributed to parameters, and knowledge signifies understanding of real things or abstract concepts. As it regards data, the information’s existence is not necessarily coupled to an observer (it exists beyond an event horizon, for example), while in the case of knowledge, the information requires a cognitive observer.

  Information is conveyed either as the content of a message or through direct or indirect observation. That which is perceived can be construed as a message in its own right, and in that sense, information is always conveyed as the content of a message.

  Information can be encoded into various forms for transmission and interpretation (for example, information may be encoded into a sequence of signs, or transmitted via a signal). It can also be encrypted for safe storage and communication.

  Information reduces uncertainty. The uncertainty of an event is measured by its probability of occurrence and is inversely proportional to that. The more uncertain an event, the more information is required to resolve uncertainty of that event. The bit is a typical unit of information, but other units such as the nat may be used. For example, the information encoded in one “fair” coin flip is log2(2/1) = 1 bit, and in two fair coin flips is

  log2(4/1) = 2 bits.

  The concept that information is the message has different meanings in different contexts. Thus the concept of information becomes closely related to notions of constraint, communication, control, data, form, education, knowledge, meaning, understanding, mental stimuli, pattern, perception, representation, and entropy.

• Knowledge (noun)

  facts, information, and skills acquired through experience or education; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject

  “a thirst for knowledge”

  “her considerable knowledge of antiques”

• Knowledge (noun)

  the sum of what is known

  “the transmission of knowledge”

• Knowledge (noun)

  information held on a computer system.

• Knowledge (noun)

  true, justified belief; certain understanding, as opposed to opinion.

• Knowledge (noun)

  awareness or familiarity gained by experience of a fact or situation

  “the programme had been developed without his knowledge”

  “he denied all knowledge of the incidents”

• Knowledge (noun)

  sexual intercourse.