CONTACTS 

SUBJECTS
Information Knowledge Mean Same Thing Difference Hard for People to

1503 -
1503 -    ..
1504 - Summary/Objective
1505 -
150501 - Follow up ref SDS 9 0000.
150502 -
150503 - Received ref DRT 1 0000 from Uncle Jim on the New World Order paper,
150504 - which supplements his earlier letter on 940709, received on 940712.
150505 - ref SDS 9 0000
150506 -
150507 -     [On 990117 submitted this record to Rita for information and
150508 -     comment. ref SDS 29 1120]
150509 -
150511 -  ..
1506 -
1507 -
1508 - Analysis
1509 -
150901 - Information and Knowledge Same Things in Common Usage
150902 -
150903 - Uncle Jim answers the question in my letter on 940712, ref DIP 1 7399,
150904 - asking about his take on the distinction between "information" and
150905 - "knowledge."  He says today....
150906 -
150907 -     ...I don't see any distinction between information and knowledge,
150908 -     in the sense of factual data.  To have knowledge you gained facts
150909 -     from information. To have information you had to gain knowledge
150910 -     from facts. Like dew and rain; both water, eh? ref DRT 1 8338
150911 -
150912 -        [On 950930 Uncle Jim asked about progess with Com Metrics for
150913 -        automated support for management. ref SDS 12 H66K
150915 -         ..
150916 -        [On 960227 information knowledge wisdom experience discussion
150917 -        with Morris. ref SDS 16 0022
150919 -         ..
150920 -        [On 961006 Uncle Jim reviewed comments by General Hatch; asks
150921 -        for explanation that distinguishes information from knowledge.
150922 -        ref SDS 21 0001
150924 -         ..
150925 -        [On 970425 submitted USACE report on Com Metrics. ref SDS 23
150926 -        0001
150928 -         ..
150929 -        [On 970522 recieved comments from Uncle Jim on USACE report.
150930 -        ref SDS 24 0001
150932 -         ..
150933 -        [On 000503 knowledge management software engineer cannot
150934 -        understand difference between information and knowledge.
150935 -        ref SDS 34 5033
150937 -         ..
150938 -        [On 000615 KM team does not understand knowledge well enough to
150939 -        develop KM. ref SDS 35 6271
150941 -         ..
150942 -        [On 001130 IBM did not understand knowledge well enough to
150943 -        convert Lotus Notes into Knowledge Management technology.
150944 -        ref SDS 36 F26K
150946 -         ..
150947 -        [On 011102 Knowledge Management marketing ploy to sell failed
150948 -        seminars, consultant time, computer tools and sofware for
150949 -        information management, reported by Larry Prusak, helped
150950 -        launch Knowledge Management in 1993, ref SDS 39 SZ7O; deadly
150951 -        sin failure to define knowledge. ref SDS 39 CQ5M
150953 -         ..
150954 -        [On 020608 KM experts and engineers simply substitute
150955 -        "knowledge" in "information management" without substantive
150956 -        improvement. ref SDS 41 JA4L
150958 -         ..
150959 -        [On 020608 IBM executive in charge of KM does not explain
150960 -        difference between information and knowledge. ref SDS 41 N46N
150962 -         ..
150963 -        [On 020608 knowledge define case study hard for people to
150964 -        grasp, ref SDS 41 CC6J; philosophy grounding for "Knowledge
150965 -        Management" reviewed 050115, ref SDS 47 SF5K, correlates with
150966 -        cognitive science reviewed 960518, ref SDS 18 GS58, management
150967 -        tasks considered 000307, ref SDS 33 767G, and physical science
150968 -        locality principle power of knowledge predicts and controls the
150969 -        future, reviewed on 040312, ref SDS 45 YH4G
150971 -  ..
150972 - Religion analogy to explain knowledge....
150973 -
150974 -      I don't think you can use religion in the sense of it being the
150975 -      basis for all knowledge.  It has too many interpretations; no
150976 -      real  universal  definition;  no  all  encompassing dogma  and it
150977 -      does not lend itself to deductive thinking  such as required in
150978 -      your exercise. ref DRT 1 6388
150980 -  ..
150981 - This point does not address whether the original meaning of religion
150982 - (set out in the paper) is a useful metaphor to explain the difference
150983 - between information and knowledge, in my letter at ref DIP 1 7481.  It
150984 - does however, indicate that "religion" may be too charged a concept
150985 - for people to step back and consider objectively.
150986 -
150987 -      Could be we have to introduce the idea less directly.  Build the
150988 -      idea more slowly.  I am a bit stumped here because there is such
150989 -      a good fit between what seems to be the case and the case I want
150990 -      to make.
150992 -       ..
150993 -      Information v. Understanding
150994 -
150995 -      Possibly a better metaphor is "understanding."  I define
150996 -      "knowledge" as the linkages between disparate items of
150997 -      information and to objectives. There is a saying...
150998 -
150999 -                 With all thy getting, get understanding.
151000 -
151001 -      ...which is what I have in mind in the paper on New World Order,
151002 -      see for example ref OF 2 5839, and also at ref OF 2 7337.
151003 -
151004 -         [See later paper for Asilomar 1996 Conference on using
151005 -         technology to support "understanding, ref SDS 20 8201.]
151007 -  ..
151008 - Uncle Jim cites a common objective and perspective among executives to
151009 - distinguish between needed and unnecessary information, ref DRT 1 R65N
151010 -
151011 -      This is why I think it is useful to distinguish between
151012 -      information and knowledge.  The latter is the prism or filter
151013 -      that identifies information as "... limited,  direct and useful
151014 -      to a defined  scope  of  interest,  operation  or
151015 -      responsibility," which Uncle Jim cites as a science of
151016 -      "Informatics." ref DRT 1 R65N
151017 -
151019 -  ..
151020 - Information Overload -- Gridlock
151021 -
151022 - Uncle Jim calls this "herniated management" at ref DRT 1 line 29, for
151023 - those who seek information beyond the scope of their assignments.
151024 -
151025 -
151026 -
151027 -
1511 -

SUBJECTS
New World Order needs old time "religion"
Reengineer Project Management, TQM
Change & Buy In
Reengineer Management to be More
Empower with New Skills of Communication
Reengineer Change in Right Direction, Add
Authority Supported by Communication
Empower with New Skills of Communication
Change in Right Direction, Leadership with
Reengineer Bureauracy Reduced Organization Flat Empowers Collaboratio

3212 -
321301 -  ..
321302 - NPR and the Air Force
321303 -
321304 - The article at ref OF 4 0000, submitted by Uncle Jim, is part of a
321305 - monthly "Policy Letter" from the office of the secretary of the air
321306 - force.  It reports on AF efforts to "reengineer" management procedures
321307 - by re-writing regulations so there are fewer of them.
321308 -
321309 -     The lead article is on sexual harrassment and claims it can be
321310 -     defined and treated with "...remedial education and disciplinary
321311 -     actions."
321312 -
321314 -  ..
321315 - The NPR article reports the results of a:
321316 -
321317 -               National Performance Review (NPR)
321318 -
321319 -    ...that produced four basic principals:
321320 -
321321 -     •  cutting the red tape -- making people accountable for achieving
321322 -        results, not following rules;
321324 -         ..
321325 -     •  putting customers first--insisting on customer satisfaction;
321327 -         ..
321328 -     •  empowering employees -- decentralizing authority and allowing
321329 -        people to make their own decisions and come up with innovative
321330 -        solutions to challenges;
321332 -         ..
321333 -     •  cutting back to basics -- abandoning obsolete ways of doing
321334 -        things and increasing productivity by re-engineering how we get
321335 -        the job done.
321337 -     ..
321338 -    This sounds like Pharoh's instructions to the PM for the pyramids.
321340 -  ..
321341 - This appears to be a subset of a DOD effort called:
321342 -
321343 -              Defense Performance Review (DPR)
321344 -
321345 -     Air Force Lt Gen Tom McInerney, heads up DPR, and notes there is a
321346 -     conflict between the way DOD is managed day to day, and the way
321347 -     they fight wars. ref OF 4 7488
321349 -  ..
321350 - General McInerney says wars are fought by empowering people to make
321351 - decisions (echoing the traditional military credo to "take immediate
321352 - action"); they (the military) decentralize for quick decisions and
321353 - tight cycle times; commanders have stated mission objectives, and
321354 - fighting war is a DOD core competency.
321356 -  ..
321357 - However "managing" DOD has excessive regulation and policies, a
321358 - hierarchial way of doing business that stifles our ability to get
321359 - things done efficiently. ref OF 4 7381
321361 -  ..
321362 - "We're changing that using the principles major corporations are using
321363 - to run their global operations."
321365 -      ..
321366 -     Reengineering Should Add Value
321367 -
321368 -     The "boss" at IBM, GM, Ford, RCA, Microsoft, Lockheed, Bechtel, et
321369 -     al, all make similar comments everyday.  They cannot reduce
321370 -     regulation by introducing a new set of regulations to overturn
321371 -     human biology between men and women, as set out under the sexual
321372 -     harrassment stuff on page one of the AF June, 1994 Policy Letter.
321374 -      ..
321375 -     I am not convinced there is a magic formula for better management.
321377 -      ..
321378 -     The challenge improving the quality of management is consistent
321379 -     implementation of well recognized practices, cited by Covey for
321380 -     example in the record on 921205, ref SDS 3 6013, and by Drucker
321381 -     reviewed on 931130. ref SDS 5 7911  Consistent use of good
321382 -     practices is limited by human biology, reviewed on 921205,
321383 -     ref SDS 3 4803  Information overload exceeds span of attention
321384 -     that prevents the human mind from creating connections of cause
321385 -     and effect that comprise knowledge, which is why SDS is essential,
321386 -     as set out in NWO... ref OF 2 02CV
321388 -      ..
321389 -     The General overlooks a key distinction.  The objective of
321390 -     fighting a war is to win, to survive.  The objective of running a
321391 -     business is, by current legal constraints, to be "fair."  Wars can
321392 -     be won, but fairness is never achieved.  There are as many
321393 -     standards of "fairness" as there are people, and the standard
321394 -     changes everyday.  What seems "fair" today becomes "indecent"
321395 -     tomorrow.  When someone sees that somebody else has a better
321396 -     house, pair of shoes, they say "That's just not fair."  If they
321397 -     have two cars, and somebody else has three cars, they say "That's
321398 -     just not fair."
321399 -
321400 -        [On 960103 USACE manager is not empowered. ref SDS 13 5939]
321402 -         ..
321403 -        [On 960117 PMI meeting presented new DOD regulations on
321404 -        procurement. ref SDS 14 0951
321406 -         ..
321407 -        [On 980807 Navy reduced "cookbook" command and control methods
321408 -        to give managers power to exercise judgement. ref SDS 28 1803
321409 -
321410 -
321411 -
321412 -
3215 -

SUBJECTS
Information Management, Discovery, Strategic Resource
Integration, Balancing, Visualization
Knowledge, POIMS definition, Management is ART & Poetry
Luck, Creativity, Edison
Creativity Derived from SDS Automated
Enlightenment in Religion, from Writing
Poetry of Management is Harmony and
Motiviation Tools that Make Reaching

4510 -
451101 -  ..
451102 - Inspiration Spurs Innovation Not Data
451103 -
451104 - Another article submitted by Uncle Jim is extracted from a newspaper
451105 - account of Tom Peters book, "On Excellence." ref OF 9 0001
451107 -  ..
451108 - Peters discusses limitations of the "Information Highway, ref OF 9
451109 - 7036 concept, which is a theme in the NWO... paper. ref OF 2 1675
451111 -      ..
451112 -     Business is "Art" and "Poetry"
451113 -
451114 -     Author describes creativity as unlocking dilemmas through insights
451115 -     gained in unlikely places, ref OF 9 7065, and further describes
451116 -     business as "art" and "poetry," ref OF 9 7123, previously
451117 -     presented in an article reviewed on 940105. ref SDS 6 0001
451118 -
451120 -          ..
451121 -         Edison, Luck, Persistance
451122 -         Discovery - Lifting Capacity to Think, Remember, Communicate
451123 -
451124 -         This is not incompatible with Thomas Edison's famous formula
451125 -         of being willing to fail 1,000 times in order to succeed once
451126 -         by trying alternate ideas.
451128 -          ..
451129 -         Of course, Tom does not mention that 1,000 failures is
451130 -         expensive, and so works pretty well only if something is
451131 -         developed early in the game that pays the bills for later
451132 -         failures.  In any event, persistance is critical, especially
451133 -         where benefits seem significant.
451135 -          ..
451136 -         I believe another source of creativity, is writing about what
451137 -         has occurred, what we think about it, and looking at the
451138 -         record periodically in retrospect, i.e. using the record as a
451139 -         strategic resource for discovery.
451140 -
451141 -            [On 950710 cited by Tom Landauer as basis for technological
451142 -            advances, ref SDS 10 0582
451144 -             ..
451145 -            [On 950721 ISO 10006 calls this "Continual Learning," see
451146 -            ref SDS 11 2846
451148 -             ..
451149 -            [On 960620 developed concept of "Concurrent Discovery" to
451150 -            apply Edison's methods. ref SDS 19 1101
451152 -             ..
451153 -            [On 041213 Edison credited for using contemporaneous notes
451154 -            to support plan, perform, report discovery process of the
451155 -            scientific method. ref SDS 46 DK4N
451156 -
451157 -
451159 -  ..
451160 - Inspiration, Incite Bring Innovation
451161 -
451162 - I take mild exception to the author's view that inspiration
451163 - necessarily comes from unnexpected sources, ref OF 9 7065  First, the
451164 - "place mat" example in the article pertains more to incite than to
451165 - inspiration. ref OF 9 7034  Inspiration is the motivation, desire to
451166 - seek a new and better solution or improvement, and it is derived from
451167 - the vision (expectation) of benefits, beauty and elegance of the
451168 - result.  Inspiration, per se, does not solve problems.  Solutions
451169 - require incite.  This may be quibbling!
451170 -
451171 -
451172 -
451173 -
4512 -

SUBJECTS
Creativity Aided by Analysis and Alignment
Creativity Empowered by SDS Avoid Entropy
Innovation Scientific Discovery Process Inquiry Implemented by SDS Pl

7605 -
760601 -  ..
760602 - Analysis Adds Intelligence to Information Spawns Creativity
760603 - Creativity Trial and Error to Discover New Patterns for Innovatoin
760604 - Innovation Discovers New Patterns through Creativity Aided by Analysis
760605 -
760606 - Insight recognizing new correlations and implications from nuances of
760607 - life bring creativity.  Recognition requires opportunity to encounter
760608 - different patterns and test results for cause and effect. SDS expands
760609 - span of attention to increase opportunity for considering new patterns
760610 - that may comprise a powerful new idea, as explained in POIMS.
760611 - ref OF 1 M17I  The beginning stages of creativity occur in the mind
760612 - where hunches and potentialities are formed, then refined and finally
760613 - acted upon to test for results.  This process is accelerated by a
760614 - personality that is open to unexpected solutions. "Openness" is often
760615 - foreclosed, however, by the process of acquiring understanding, i.e.
760616 - hard won experience, without opportunity for reflection on context.
760617 - That is why "oddball" settings which the author mentions can reveal
760618 - new solutions, because the mind is less channeled by a fixed context
760619 - of experience and paradigms.
760621 -  ..
760622 - Experience using SDS shows that "solutions" are often simply hunches
760623 - which turn out to work when tried, even though we do not understand
760624 - why they work at the time.  Later we work out the details.  Hunches
760625 - are the mental lasers (incite) that cut through a lot of past effort,
760626 - to form a new sequence, correlation of steps or ingredients that may
760627 - work.
760629 -  ..
760630 - SDS aids creativity by augmenting human intelligence that lifts the
760631 - capacity to think, remember and communicate, as explained in POIMS.
760632 - ref OF 1 3742  The flexible structure of SDS makes it fast and easy to
760633 - organize information into new patterns first to capture organiztional
760634 - memory for understanding the record of daily life, ref OF 1 2301, then
760635 - to juxtapose that record against objectives, requirements and
760636 - commitments by assigning subjects that yield multiple views based on
760637 - alternate contexts. see again POIMS. ref OF 1 1110
760639 -  ..
760640 - Since innovation is suppressed by ignorance, fear and denial,
760641 - creativity ultimately requires courage to act, since after gainning a
760642 - hunch, the process of testing new ideas to establish feasibility and
760643 - cost effectiveness often entails conduct that conflicts with cultural
760644 - practice, which resists and stifles innovation, as reported on 920402.
760645 - ref SDS 2 0344
760646 -
760647 -      [On 961017 culture stifles adding intelligence to management.
760648 -      ref SDS 22 5832
760650 -       ..
760651 -      [On 980307 Andy Grove reports getting successful people to
760652 -      consider a new idea is like walking through the valley of death.
760653 -      ref SDS 25 1657
760655 -       ..
760656 -      [On 990527 powerful cultural forces resist improvement.
760657 -      ref SDS 31 1233
760658 -
760659 -
760660 -
760661 -
760662 -
760663 -
760664 -
760665 -
7607 -

SUBJECTS
Find Anything Impossible with Other Methodologies, Eric Armstrong
Find Information Too Difficult Email Too Many to Manage Time Not Enou
80% Time Finding Information on Computer Price People Pay for Bad Man
Information Overload Takes 80% Time Find Information on Computer Pric
Information Management Nobody Can Find Anything on Computers People G

9307 -
930801 -  ..
930802 - Inspiration and Innovation Stifled by Information Overload
930803 - Information Overload Requires 80% the Time Finding Information
930804 - 80% Time Finding Information Stifles Inspiration Innovation
930805 - Finding Information Takes 80% of Time Stifles Inspiration Innovation
930806 -
930807 - The article says....
930808 -
930809 -        The new scheme [replacing campuses and libraries with friendly
930810 -        electronic networks], he told London's Independent newspaper
930811 -        will help people cope with information overload that currently
930812 -        forces them to spend 80 percent of their time finding
930813 -        information; far too little time is left for decision-making.
930814 -        ref OF 9 P02Q
930816 -  ..
930817 - This aligns with report on 890809 that managers spend 80% of the time
930818 - on communiation. ref SDS 1 8812
930820 -      ..
930821 -     [On 960205 article reports study showing people waste 70% of day
930822 -     in unproductive meetings because people are not prepared, cannot
930823 -     find information in time for effective research. ref SDS 15 5902
930825 -      ..
930826 -     [On 960406 law firm wastes hours looking for information on
930827 -     computers cause anger, fear of reprisals; but, people resist front
930828 -     end investment to organize record so finding information if fast
930829 -     and easy. ref SDS 17 5922
930831 -      ..
930832 -     [On 980412 CBS news reported information overload chronic problem
930833 -     reducing productivity, causes stress, conflict. ref SDS 26 8956
930835 -      ..
930836 -     [On 980613 tsunami information overload overwhelms span of
930837 -     attention new reality of information revolution caused by faster
930838 -     technology. ref SDS 27 3499
930840 -      ..
930841 -     [On 010916 engineer says nobody can find anything on the computer.
930842 -     ref SDS 37 KA6H
930844 -      ..
930845 -     [On 011003 productivity paralyzed because nobody can find anything
930846 -     on computer. ref SDS 38 EC5N
930848 -      ..
930849 -     [On 020504 study shows professional standards for communication
930850 -     practices and requirements on good management specified in FAR,
930851 -     ISO, Health Care, Covey, Drucker, law, contract notice provisions,
930852 -     and 2,000 years of literacy for contemporaneous documentation for
930853 -     alignment and feedback to work intelligently, quickly, and
930854 -     accurately are ignored in government, business, health care, every
930855 -     sector. ref SDS 40 NS6F
930857 -      ..
930858 -     [On 051130 article in AIA Architect - during the past quarter
930859 -     century, documentation has grown significantly; projects that
930860 -     required only a few file boxes in the 1980s result in many times
930861 -     that amount today. ref SDS 48 Z16L
930862 -
930863 -
930864 -
9309 -

SUBJECTS
General
Health Care Policy, Government

9504 -
950501 -  ..
950502 - Health Care Standards Are Elusive
950503 -
950504 - Author says there are no "cold hard facts" because principal players
950505 - in the current health care debate cannot agree, ref OF 9 line 78.
950506 -
950507 -     This rationale seems insufficient to conclude there are no
950508 -     "facts," but rather points to the willingness of political adver-
950509 -     saries to present (filter) "information" that supports their
950510 -     objectives.  It is a re-statement of:
950511 -
950512 -             "There are lies, damn lies and statistics."
950514 -      ..
950515 -     As well there is likely a difference between assembling informa-
950516 -     tion about 250,000,000 people in an amorphous "system" and looking
950517 -     at particular people and smaller groups.  Can we even define
950518 -     "health care?"
950519 -
950520 -          The idea of "care" implies someone doing something for some-
950521 -          one else.  Two people with nominally comparable afflictions
950522 -          will seek different levels of "care" because there are two
950523 -          components to the demand for care:  (1) is the body and (2)
950524 -          is the perception of need that occurs in the mind.  Two
950525 -          "care" providers will prescribe differently for a common
950526 -          diagnosis.  Since ultimately every organism is unique, it
950527 -          cannot really be said that different levels of care is wrong.
950529 -      ..
950530 -     Thus, merely because this is a complex matter for which cold hard
950531 -     facts are not amenable, does not imply facts cannot be adduced for
950532 -     less complex systems.
950534 -      ..
950535 -     The issue relates to the level of detail to be examined, relative
950536 -     to a particular objective, and by extension it alerts the com-
950537 -     munity that health care, per se, cannot be legislated in detail.
950538 -     We do not have the ability to gather and grasp the commonalities
950539 -     (i.e., "facts") with sufficient accuracy to devise a universal
950540 -     "system."
950541 -
950543 -  ..
950544 - Author makes an interesting point about the prevelance of disease and
950545 - its recognition, noting that medical diagnosis for certain diseases
950546 - is more prevelant in different countries, ref OF 9 line 96.
950547 -
950548 -     This supports my view about genetic variability.  If we look
950549 -     closely enough we can see variances of different degree.  These
950550 -     can be classified as "disease" or precursors to disease, or merely
950551 -     variances.  It may take another 100 or 1000 years to distinguish
950552 -     between disease and variance.
950553 -
950554 -
950555 -
950556 -
950557 -
950558 -
950559 -
950560 -
950561 -
9506 -