Knowledge is the awareness, understanding, or familiarity with facts, information, skills, or situations acquired through experience, study, or investigation. It can take several forms, including:
- Propositional knowledge (knowledge-that): Knowing factual information or truths, such as "2 + 2 = 4" or "the atomic mass of gold is 196.97 u"
- Practical knowledge (knowledge-how): The ability to perform tasks or skills, like knowing how to swim or play the piano
- Acquaintance knowledge: Familiarity with people or objects based on direct experience
Knowledge can be individual or collective and may be explicit (clearly articulated and shared) or tacit (personal, hard to formalize). It is acquired through various means such as perception, memory, reasoning, and testimony
. Philosophically, knowledge is often defined as justified true belief, though debates exist about the nature of justification and the limits of knowledge
. The study of knowledge, its sources, types, and validity, is called epistemology
. In organizations and professions, knowledge includes explicit facts, procedural know-how, domain expertise, and embedded institutional knowledge, all crucial for effective decision-making and innovation
. In summary, knowledge encompasses the information and skills that enable understanding and action in the world, spanning factual awareness, practical competence, and experiential familiarity
