The social life of information

TS Eliot's question, "Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?" may find some answers in The Social Life of Information, a collection of essays by John Seely Brown and Paul Duguid. This book argues for a view of the use of technology that goes beyond information and individuals to include the social network that surrounds both.

In The Social Life of Information , the authors explore some commonly held distinctions between information and knowledge in a effort to better understand the renewed interest in knowledge over information. This discussion may be of particular interest to staff at UWA where our mission is "To advance, transmit and sustain knowledge."

The chapter "Learning - in Theory and in Practice" points out that knowledge implies a knower, is demand driven by the learner, is located in an individual and is difficult to separate from that individual to pass on. Knowledge requires a commitment from the learner and once acquired implies understanding. Information is independent, can be pointed to and is easy to transmit.

"Information ... is on its own not enough to produce actionable knowledge. Practice too is required." (Brown & Duguid, 2000 p. 135). By drawing distinctions between 'learning about' and 'learning to be', 'knowing that' and 'knowing how', practice is identified as the teacher and a community of practice as a fertile environment to support and sustain learning.

Readers may find the authors' idea of 'Stolen knowledge' as confirming or confronting depending on their view of the role of practice in learning.

• Brown, J. S. and Duguid, P. (2000) The Social Life of Information. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.