Too Much Information?

“Where is the Life we have lost in living?

Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?

Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?”

—T.S. Eliot, The Rock (1934)

Every so often, you come across a thought that hits you hard.  As I have mentioned before in this blog, one of the greatest struggles the Mozambicans, or any historically suppressed people, face is an atrophied ability[1] to conceptualize. This often stems from a focused attempt by colonial or other oppressive powers to discourage their second-class (or lower) population from learning too much. This is terrible, but understandable and even expected, given the nature of power and what some people will do to hold onto it.

What is more disturbing, however, is to see symptoms of low conceptualization skills appearing in what are supposed to be (at least theoretically) “free” cultures[2]. As a teacher at the undergraduate level in the U.S., I have encountered many students who come from middle-class, if not affluent backgrounds, who have difficulty identifying cause-and-effect relationships, analyzing and prioritizing information, and generally understanding concepts, as opposed to mere memorization of facts. These characteristics are similar to those we find in historically suppressed cultures. Clearly, many of the students do not act like a suppressed people group, so barring abuse or other abnormal trauma, what would cause this lack of conceptualization in what is, for all intents and purposes, a conceptually-oriented culture?

It isn't that I am identifying anything new, either—most educators are aware of a general reduction of academic ability in U.S. students. It has been happening for years and continues to worsen, despite attempts to improve curriculum and develop more educational programs. What T.S. Eliot has pointed out, however, is that this may not just be a matter of poor education as much as it is an incorrect focus on the content of the lessons. That is, we are teaching students to acquire and regurgitate data and information—history, math, science, etc.—instead of helping them understand how to use the data they have available.

With the rise of the internet, we are now overwhelmed with information. Children today have access to more information than any other generation in known history. It is said you can learn nearly anything that humanity knows through the World Wide Web. The problem isn't with the information itself, but with understanding what to do with it. It is all too easy to just take information and apply it to situations it seems to fit, and presume we have an answer. I see this all the time in my teaching (often in the form of plagiarism, when a student fails to cite where they got their information). Unfortunately, this is usually not enough. Having information is useless unless you understand how to apply it. Explaining how to organize and prioritize the data you have, as well as identify the consequences and formulate a response, is not something that we are currently teaching in most schools. Others are voicing similar opinions, and I feel the need to add my own voice to the chorus: we need to stop focusing on teaching students data, and start focusing on teaching students data organization, analysis, and problem-solving.

This will help students make better use of the massive amount of information that is available. I do not mean that they will merely to be better at research, but they will be better able to determine what information is important to their personal goals and development. That is, they need to know not only what data will help them in class or at work, but what will help them become better people. This way, they can not only have information, but also knowledge, that is, a personal comprehension of the data. Understanding how to use this knowledge helps us develop wisdom. It is my hope that such wisdom can help people learn how to truly live.

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[1] As always, lack of ability in no way implies lack of capacity. Just because no one ever taught you how to drive a car, it doesn't mean you can’t learn—it just means you haven’t.

[2] For my purposes, a “free” culture is one which has not been deliberately suppressed in the recent memory of its people. Many (though not all) Caucasian people groups would fit this category, as well as some Asian groups, and a few others.