# Knowledge is Compression Created: 2023_07_22 01:03 Tags: LLMs have proved that a lot of what we call knowledge is just the compression of many ideas & finding an efficient way to store those ideas. The real power of knowledge is not in the specific pieces of knowledge you learn. It is the links between other pieces. The power of something is in the edges of the graph, not necessarily the nodes of that graph. To put that into an example, knowing math is not about knowing all the numbers, equations and so on. It is about the application of that knowledge. Even just knowing that it exists and that you can retrieve it later is enough to essentially "know" it. To lay out all the facts on the table and make a judgement call is what critical thinking really is. Oftentimes, the details of ideas obscure what they are trying to convey. Like if I were to explain to you how a speaker works, air pressure, and its interaction with your ear drum is certainly relevant but is not effective at giving you detail in how to make one. To convey ideas, there has to be a focus on what is essential, and you must throw everything else out. When everyone can search Google for any random fact, what does it even mean to know something? We've seen a shift in where knowledge lies. We have equalized access to knowledge (if you have access to the internet, and that is a big "if") so now the question becomes what do you do with that knowledge. The "[[Sea of Information]]" awaits, what will you do to sail it? ## References -