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The Origin of Data Information Knowledge Wisdom (DIKW) Hierarchy

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Nikhil Sharma at Google Inc.
Nikhil Sharma
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Abstract

The Data Information Knowledge and Wisdom Hierarchy (DIKW) has been gaining popularity in many domains. While there has been a lot of articulation of the hierarchy itself, the origins of this ubiquitous and frequently used hierarchy are largely unexplored. In this short piece we trace the trails of this hierarchy. Like an urban legend, it’s everywhere yet few know where it came from.
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TheOriginofDataInformation
KnowledgeWisdom(DIKW)Hierarchy
NikhilSharma
[Updated:February4,2008]
ImageoriginallypublishedintheDecember1982issueofTHEFUTURIST.Usedwithpermission
fromtheWorldFutureSociety,7910WoodmontAvenue,Suite450,Bethesda,Maryland20814.
Telephone:301/6568274;Fax:301/9510394;http://www.wfs.org
TheHierarchy
TheDataInformationKnowledgeandWisdomHierarchy(DIKW)hasbeengainingpopularityinmany
domains.InmostKnowledgeManagementliteraturethehierarchyisoftenreferredtoasthe“Knowledge
Hierarchy”orthe“KnowledgePyramid”,whilethe“InformationScience”domainreferstothesame
hierarchyas“InformationHierarchy”or“InformationPyramid”forobviousreasons.Oftenthechoice
between“Information”and“Knowledge”isbasedonwhattheparticularprofessionbelievestobe
manageable.
Whiletherehasbeenalotofarticulationofthehierarchyitself,theoriginsofthisubiquitousand
frequentlyusedhierarchyarelargelyunexplored.Inthisshortpiecewetracethetrailsofthishierarchy.
Likeanurbanlegend,it’severywhereyetfewknowwhereitcamefrom.
TheDomains
WhilethedomainsofInformationScienceandKnowledgeManagementbothrefertotheDIKWhierarchy,
theydonotcrossreference.Thustherearetwoseparatethreadsthatleadtotheoriginofthehierarchy.
InKnowledgeManagement,RussellAckoffisoftencitedastheinitiatoroftheDIKWhierarchy.His1988
PresidentialAddresstoISGSRisconsideredbymanytobetheearliestmentionofthehierarchy.Ackoff’s
presidentialaddresswasprintedina1989article“FromDatatoWisdom”[1]anditdoesnotciteany
earliersourcesofthehierarchy.
SearchingfortheoriginsofthehierarchyintheKnowledgemanagementdomain,wefindMilanZelenyto
beanearlierproponentofthehierarchy.Inhisarticleon“ManagementSupportSystems”[2],Zeleny
detailsouttheDIKWhierarchyin1987.ZelenybuildstheknowledgehierarchybyequatingData,
Information,KnowledgeandWisdomtovariousknowledgeforms:“knownothing”,“knowwhat”,
“knowhow”and“knowwhy”respectively.Yet,thetrailstopsagain,Zeleny’s1987mentionofthe
hierarchyisearlierthanAckoff’s1989address,buthealsodoesnotciteanyearliersourcesofthe
hierarchy.ItcanthusbearguedthatZelenywasthefirsttomentionthehierarchyinthefieldof
KnowledgeManagement.
ThedomainofdesignhasalsodrawnonandreferredtotheDIKWhierarchy.Almostatthesametimeas
MilanZeleny’sarticle,MichaelCooley’sbookpublishedin1987:“ArchitectureorBee?”[3],buildsthe
DIKWhierarchyduringhisdiscussionoftacitknowledgeandcommonsense.Onceagainnoearlierwork
iscitedorreferredtobyCooleyandtrailoftheoriginhasanabruptending.
ItisinInformationSciencedomainthatthetrailcanbepickedupagain.Herethehierarchyismentioned
asearlyas1982,whenHarlanCleveland[4]wroteaboutitinaFuturistarticle.Cleveland’sarticle
mentionstheInformationKnowledgeWisdomhierarchyindetailgivinganexample.Whatisdifferent
aboutthisarticlefromtheonesmentionedaboveisthatClevelandpointstothesurprisingoriginofthe
hierarchyitself.
TheOrigin
InterestinglythefirstevermentionofthehierarchyisneitherintheKnowledgeManagementfield,northe
InformationSciencedomain,butinanunexpectedplace:poetry.InhisFuturistarticle,Clevelandcites
T.S.Eliotasthepersonwhosuggestedthehierarchyinthefirstplace.Clevelandnamesit“theT.S.Eliot
hierarchy”.ThepoetT.S.Eliotwasthefirsttomentionthe“DIKWhierarchy”withoutevencallingitbythat
name.In1934Eliotwrotein“TheRock”[5]:
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?
ThisisthefirstvaguementionofthehierarchythatwasexpandedbyCleveland.Thoughthisisthefirst
mentionofthehierarchyinthearts,itisnottheonlyone.Beforemanagementandinformationscience
caughton,FrankZappaalludedtothehierarchyin1979[6]:
Informationisnotknowledge,
Knowledgeisnotwisdom,
Wisdomisnottruth,
Truthisnotbeauty,
Beautyisnotlove,
Loveisnotmusic,
andMusicisTHEBEST.
BeyondEliot’shierarchy
InhisFuturistarticle[4],HarlanClevelandconcedesthatinformationscientistsare“stillstrugglingwiththe
definitionsofbasicterms”ofthehierarchy.HeusesElliot’shierarchyasastartingpointtoexplainthe
basicterms.Clevelandalsoagreesthattherearemanywaysinwhichtheelementsofthehierarchymay
bedefined,yetuniversalagreementonthemneednotbeagoalinitself.WhileClevelandhimselfdoesn’t
add‘Data’toEliot’shierarchyhementionsYiFuTuan’sandDanielBell’sversionsofthehierarchyinthe
articlewhichincludes“data”[4].
RussellAckoff’sversionoftheDIKWhierarchyhasanother“layer”of“understanding”builtin.Thus
Ackoff’shierarchyisDataInformationKnowledgeUnderstanding&Wisdom.“Understanding”requires
diagnosisandprescription,whichAckoffconsiderstobebeyond“knowledge”butbelow“wisdom”.
Discussingthetemporaldimensionofhisversionofthehierarchy,Ackoffpointsoutthatwhileinformation
agesrapidly,knowledgehasalongerlifespanandunderstandinghasonlyanauraofpermanence.Itis
wisdomthatheconsiderstobe“permanent”inthetruesense.
ZelenyalsoproposesadditionstotheDIKWhierarchy.Accordingtohim“enlightenment”shouldbeonthe
topofthefamiliarDIKWframework[2].Enlightenment,accordingtoZeleny(personalcommunication,
October29,2004)“isnotonlyansweringorunderstandingwhy(wisdom),butattainingthesenseoftruth,
thesenseofrightandwrong,andhavingitsociallyaccepted,respectedandsanctioned.”
Acknowledgements
GeorgeFurnassuggestedthisessay.MilanZeleny,AdamKeenandPaulLinkprovidedimportant
feedback,pointersandreferences.
References
1. Russell.L.Ackoff,“FromDatatoWisdom,”JournalofAppliedSystemsAnalysis16(1989):
39.
2. MilanZeleny,“ManagementSupportSystems:TowardsIntegratedKnowledgeManagement,”
HumanSystemsManagement7,no1(1987):5970.
3. M.Cooley,ArchitectureorBee?(London:TheHogarthPress,1987).
4. HarlandCleveland,“InformationasResource,”TheFuturist,December1982,3439.
5. T.S.Eliot,TheRock(Faber&Faber1934).
6. FrankZappa,“PackardGoose”inalbumJoe’sGarage:ActII&III(TowerRecords,1979).
Contactinformation
NikhilSharma,UserExperienceResearcher,GoogleInc.(nsharmaATumichDOTedu)
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Article
  • Apr 1987
Humans do not apply formalistic scaffolds of fixed rules of ‘knowledge’ to integrate the a priori given objective world of data ‘out there’: they do not compute the world. Regardless of some ‘knowledge’-modeling assumptions, just the opposite is true: humans use their subjectively perceived world of turbulent circumstances to bring forth (create, recreate and adapt), again and again, knowledge as an autopoietic network of relations through which they coordinate their actions. Such knowledge brings (through language) coherence and coordination to the otherwise turbulent and chaotic world of human action. Knowledge is not ‘processing of information’ but a coordination of action. As a consequence, any management support system (DSS, AI, ES, etc.) claiming knowledge as its purpose or its base, cannot be of the symbolic computation type à la Simon.
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