"Knowing What We Know: The Transmission of Knowledge: From Ancient Wisdom to Modern Magic" by Simon Winchester: Review by Alyssa Gluf

Abstract

What is knowledge? How do we gain it, how do we keep and share it, and what do we do with it? Journalist and writer Simon Winchester explores these questions extensively in Knowing What We Know, guiding us through the vast history of knowledge-sharing in its many forms through historical (and some personal) anecdotes. Chapter by chapter, he examines different methods of teaching and thinking, inventions that have enhanced our ability to share and gain knowledge, and moments in history that exemplify the ways information can be manipulated to suit various purposes. In the end, the reader is asked to confront how the process of thinking is changing, and what this could mean for our future.