Knowledge vs. Information — What's the Difference?

Information that has been comprehended and retained.

Data communicated or received concerning a particular fact or circumstance.

The state of being aware of something .

Facts provided or learned about something or someone.

Understanding derived from experience or education.

What is conveyed or represented by a particular arrangement or sequence of things.

The sum of what is known, available to a person or society.

Data that has been processed into a format that is understandable.

Acquaintance with facts, truths, or principles.

Knowledge gained through study, communication, research, or instruction.

Knowledge is a familiarity, awareness, or understanding of someone or something, such as facts (descriptive knowledge), skills (procedural knowledge), or objects (acquaintance knowledge). By most accounts, knowledge can be acquired in many different ways and from many sources, including but not limited to perception, reason, memory, testimony, scientific inquiry, education, and practice.

Information can be thought of as the resolution of uncertainty; it answers the question of "What an entity is" and thus defines both its essence and the nature of its characteristics. The concept of information has different meanings in different contexts.

Facts, information, and skills acquired through experience or education; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject

Knowledge or facts learned, especially about a certain subject or event.

Awareness or familiarity gained by experience of a fact or situation

The act of informing or the condition of being informed; communication of knowledge

The state or fact of knowing

(Computers) Processed, stored, or transmitted data.

Familiarity, awareness, or understanding gained through experience or study

A numerical measure of the uncertainty of an experimental outcome.

The sum or range of what has been perceived, discovered, or learned

(Law) A formal accusation of a crime made by a public officer rather than by grand jury indictment in instances in which the offense, if a federal crime, is not a felony or in which the offense, if a state crime, is allowed prosecution in that manner rather than by indictment.

(Archaic) Carnal knowledge.

That which resolves uncertainty; anything that answers the question of "what a given entity is".

The fact of knowing about something; general understanding or familiarity with a subject, place, situation etc.

Things that are or can be known about a given topic; communicable knowledge of something.

Awareness of a particular fact or situation; a state of having been informed or made aware of something.

The act of informing or imparting knowledge; notification.

Intellectual understanding; the state of appreciating truth or information.

A statement of criminal activity brought before a judge or magistrate; in the UK, used to inform a magistrate of an offence and request a warrant; in the US, an accusation brought before a judge without a grand jury indictment.

Familiarity or understanding of a particular skill, branch of learning etc.

(obsolete) The act of informing against someone, passing on incriminating knowledge; accusation.

(philosophical) Justified true belief

The systematic imparting of knowledge; education, training.

(obsolete) Information or intelligence about something; notice.

The creation of form; the imparting of a given quality or characteristic; forming, animation.

The total of what is known; all information and products of learning.

[…] the meaning that a human assigns to data by means of the known conventions used in its representation.

(countable) Something that can be known; a branch of learning; a piece of information; a science.

(Christianity) Divine inspiration.

(obsolete) Acknowledgement.

A service provided by telephone which provides listed telephone numbers of a subscriber.

(obsolete) Notice, awareness.

(information theory) Any unambiguous abstract data, the smallest possible unit being the bit.

The deep familiarity with certain routes and places of interest required by taxicab drivers working in London, England.

As contrasted with data, information is processed to extract relevant data.

(obsolete) To confess as true; to acknowledge.

(information technology) Any ordered sequence of symbols (or signals) (that could contain a message).

The act or state of knowing; clear perception of fact, truth, or duty; certain apprehension; familiar cognizance; cognition.

The act of informing, or communicating knowledge or intelligence.

That which is or may be known; the object of an act of knowing; a cognition; - chiefly used in the plural.

Any fact or set of facts, knowledge, news, or advice, whether communicated by others or obtained by personal study and investigation; any datum that reduces uncertainty about the state of any part of the world; intelligence; knowledge derived from reading, observation, or instruction.

That which is gained and preserved by knowing; instruction; acquaintance; enlightenment; learning; scholarship; erudition.

A proceeding in the nature of a prosecution for some offense against the government, instituted and prosecuted, really or nominally, by some authorized public officer on behalf of the government. It differs from an indictment in criminal cases chiefly in not being based on the finding of a grand jury. See Indictment.

That familiarity which is gained by actual experience; practical skill; as, a knowledge of life.

A measure of the number of possible choices of messages contained in a symbol, signal, transmitted message, or other information-bearing object; it is usually quantified as the negative logarithm of the number of allowed symbols that could be contained in the message; for logarithms to the base 2, the measure corresponds to the unit of information, the hartley, which is log210, or 3.323 bits; called also information content. The smallest unit of information that can be contained or transmitted is the bit, corresponding to a yes-or-no decision.

Scope of information; cognizance; notice; as, it has not come to my knowledge.

Useful facts, as contrasted with raw data; as, among all this data, there must be some interesting information.

To acknowledge.

A message received and understood

The psychological result of perception and learning and reasoning

A collection of facts from which conclusions may be drawn;

Knowledge acquired through study or experience or instruction

(communication theory) a numerical measure of the uncertainty of an outcome;

Formal accusation of a crime

Yes, when information is processed, understood, and applied, it can become knowledge.

Typically, knowledge is considered more valuable because it enables decision-making and problem-solving.

Knowledge often includes tacit elements that are not easily articulated or documented, making transfer challenging.

Technology can streamline the acquisition of information by making vast amounts of data readily accessible. However, converting this information into knowledge still requires human engagement, critical thinking, and contextual application, which technology can only facilitate to a certain extent.

Knowledge, being deeply integrated and context-aware, allows individuals to make informed decisions and solve problems efficiently in everyday life. Information, while useful, often requires processing and context to become actionable.

Through learning, understanding, and applying information in real contexts.

Knowledge is an understanding that incorporates personal insights and experience, whereas information consists of facts and data.

Yes, without the contextual understanding that comes with knowledge, information can be misinterpreted or used inappropriately, potentially leading to misleading conclusions or decisions.

Memory is key to transforming information into knowledge, as it involves retaining and integrating information over time, allowing it to be accessed and applied in various situations, thus forming a knowledgeable base.

Education systems play a crucial role by providing structured learning, critical thinking skills, and opportunities for application, all of which help students transform raw information into usable knowledge.