Librarians have systems that can classify every published book. And scientific publishers can classify every paper. Those don't add up to a complete classification of all human knowledge, but it's a substantial fraction of it.
Okay I got it . But do we have any best possible classification system or map . That is most complete.
A map which has tried to capture totality of all knowledge without leaving anything significant.
I want this so I am not unaware if any field of knowledge.
Atleast any significant feild of knowledge
Start with the library of congress classification system. It'll get you 90 percent of the way there for 10% of the effort.
(Classification systems are very much an information science topic... and they're pretty damn important. Along those same lines - you'll want to think carefully and critically about what is seen as canonical knowledge, and what's "in" those fields, versus what is perceived as "utter crackpot bullshit" that nobody takes seriously. The fields you've mentioned ALL have a significant amount of bleed at the edges - where does math become mathematical physics and then 'really physics' ... it's just not that easy.)
Fanboy comment: just google Eugene Garfield. Have fun!
Okay I got it . But do we have any best possible classification system or map . That is most complete. A map which has tried to capture totality of all known knowledge without leaving anything significant.
I want this so I am not unaware of any field of knowledge. Atleast any significant feild of knowledge
Practically Best possible .
As you suggest I read the scheme of library of congress
And there any some more schemes for all human knowledge.
But a question comes in mind that which map should I trust For my needs .
Which map has that quality.
1 point by NishanStepak 21 minutes ago | next | edit | delete [–]
This goes well past libraries and into new concepts. Vannevar Bush wrote an article you might find interesting, As We May Think, it is the precursor in many ways to the internet. https://web.mit.edu/sts.035/www/PDFs/think.pdf
A book you might also want to read is The World Brain by H.G. Wells which is about a world encyclopedia.
Some people say that it is the precursor to Wikipedia. If you want a more comprehensive classification system, the Library of Congress classification system is public domain and deeper than the Dewey Classification system. It is more academic in nature. https://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/lcco/
However, classification systems are limited. There are currently over 13 zettabytes on the internet right now. This is more than any library can hold. We have entered the zettabyte era. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zettabyte_Era
I believe it would take something similar to a multi zettabyte vector database attached to a knowledge graph of all the content on the internet and available content in universities and libraries to build a universal knowledge graph that would house the totality of human knowledge.
This is not a traditional classification system. The taxonomy and organizational structure would come out of the database which would modify existing classification systems. It would be like a universal library, but it would not have walls or physical limits.
The closest place where I thnk they could have done this already is the DARPA Memex project named after Vannevar Bush's idea. But it is not public. https://www.darpa.mil/research/programs/memex
It is very much a topic of the future. There are several science fiction novels written around it. Isaac Asimov has the Encyclopedia Galactica in his Foundation series. David Brin also has the Encyclopedia Galactica in his uplift trilogy. Gordon R. Dickson wrote a book called The Final Encyclopedia. It has been a dream for a long time. Some people consider The Library of Alexandria the first attempt at this.
I once read that if you tried to read every Wikipedia article for 12 hours a day, it would take you about 42 years to finish—assuming no new content gets added along the way.
Okay I got it . But do we have any best possible classification system or map . That is most complete. A map which has tried to capture totality of all knowledge without leaving anything significant.
I want this so I am not unaware if any field of knowledge. Atleast any significant feild of knowledge
MIT OpenCourseWare has a series of lectures on AI by Marvin Minsky and in one lecture he describes two projects in need of each other but were drifting apart that aimed to keep a beat on knowledge.
You may want to trace the history of librarianship.
Okay I got it . But do we have any best possible classification system or map . That is most complete. A map which has tried to capture totality of all knowledge without leaving anything significant.
I want this so I am not unaware if any field of knowledge. Atleast any significant feild of knowledge
Practically Best possible .
As you suggest I read about librarianship
But a question comes in mind that which map should I trust For my needs .
Which map has that quality.
This is a deep question. Many a great mind in history have thought about how to organize all of the world's knowledge systematically.
> Indeed, the purpose of an encyclopedia is to collect knowledge disseminated around the globe; to set forth its general system to the men with whom we live, and transmit it to those who will come after us.. -- Denis Diderot
A key word is "ontology", a system or architecture of categories to group entities which represent objects, events, relationships between concepts.
Honestly, none of the lists are satisfyingly comprehensive. Like a fractal, you can zoom into any one subject, and it branches into more and more specific categories. Wikipedia has various lists and outlines that come closer to what you describe.
Okay I got it . But which is best possible classification system or map . That is most complete. A map which has tried to capture totality of all known knowledge without leaving anything significant.
I want this so I am not unaware if any field of knowledge. Atleast any significant feild of knowledge
Practically Best possible .
As you suggest I read all links
But a question comes in mind that which map should I trust For my needs .
Which map has that quality.
Yes, I understand, like you I have the same question and desire for a map of all knowledge. It relates to library science, how to organize all books on all subjects; and in general, the aim of academia, an organized system to learn, research, and teach all subjects. On the dark side, it relates to Seeing Like a State, the quest for dominion over the entire world and everything in it. There is the concept of legibility, the limits of what you can know (see/measure/quantify/understand) and the vast unknown beyond it. So we must accept that the map can never be complete. But we can try!
You'll have to create your own comprehensive outline and classification system. I'd start with an encyclopedic overview.
> Below is a summary of the world's knowledge, in the form of an outline. Each subject in turn links to an outline that summarizes that subject.
Culture and the arts
Geography and places
Health and fitness
History and events
Human activities
Mathematics and logic
Natural and physical sciences
People and self
Philosophy and thinking
Religion and belief systems
Society and social sciences
Technology and applied sciences
Each of these expanded:
Culture and Humanities – Aesthetics • Anthropology • Archaeology • Celebrities • Classics • Communication studies • Critical theory • Cultural heritage • Ethics • Folklore • Language • Linguistics • Movements • Mythology • Philosophy • Popular culture • Religion and spirituality • Tourism • Traditions
The arts – Art galleries • Art schools • Museums
Literature – Poetry • Fiction (Novel • Short story • Fairy tale) • Screenwriting
Performing arts – Circus • Comedy • Dance • Film • Opera • Theatre
Visual arts – Animation • Architecture • Architecture history • Comics • Design • Digital art • Drawing • Fashion • Fashion design • Graphic design • Interior design • Landscape architecture • New media art • Painting • Photography • Sculpture • Textile arts
Geography – Atlas • City • Climate • Demographics • Earth • Exploration • Geographic information system • History of geography • Map • Park • Place • Population density • Region • Spatial analysis • Subregion • Surveying
History by region, time period, subject
Human activity – Agriculture • Arts • Business • Child care • Communication • Crime • Educating (Learning, Teaching) • Entertainment • Exercise • Exploration (Underwater exploration, Space exploration) • Globalization • Hobbies • Industrialisation • Innovation • Law enforcement • Learning • Leisure activities • Management • Massage • Medicine • Navigation • Philosophy • Politics (Governance) • Publishing • Recreation • Religion • Reproduction • Resource consumption • Science • Sex • Shopping • Spending • Sport • Thinking • Transporting • Traveling • Underwater diving • Warfare
Formal sciences – Information theory • Logic • Statistics • Theoretical computer science
Mathematics – Algebra • Applied mathematics • Arithmetic • Calculus • Equations • Geometry • Mathematical analysis • Mathematics education • Mathematical practice • Measurement • Numbers • Philosophy of mathematics • Probability • Proofs • Theorems • Topology • Trigonometry
Natural science – Physics • Astronomy • Biology • Chemistry • Earth science • Materials science • Computer science
Philosophy – Aesthetics • Ethics • Epistemology • Logic • Metaphysics
Social sciences – Accounting • Anthropology • Archaeology • Behavioural science • Cognitive science • Communication studies • Criminology •...
There is no limit at all for the expanses of human knowledge. Including that every single individual out of all the billions of people on Earth has some knowledge that nobody else has.
> It is generally understood that all the knowledge humanity currently possesses is finite and organized into distinct areas.
No, this is not generally understood, because it is not true.
You will go insane if you try to classify or map all human knowledge.
Okay . As far I have learned is that everything all humanity knows at any specific point of time is finite and growing rapidly.
Collective human knowledge is finite at any moment and growing and divided into many areas for convenience .
We have disciplines such as physics, maths etc.
Yes it is enormous and it seems to
Practically extremely difficult to make such a map.
This goes well past libraries and into new concepts. Vannevar Bush wrote an article you might find interesting, As We May Think, it is the precursor in many ways to the internet. https://web.mit.edu/sts.035/www/PDFs/think.pdf A book you might also want to read is The World Brain by H.G. Wells which is about a world encyclopedia. Some people say that it is the precursor to Wikipedia. If you want a more comprehensive classification system, the Library of Congress classification system is public domain and deeper than the Dewey Classification system. It is more academic in nature. https://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/lcco/ However, classification systems are limited. There are currently over 13 zettabytes on the internet right now. This is more than any library can hold. We have entered the zettabyte era. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zettabyte_Era I believe it would take something similar to a multi zettabyte vector database attached to a knowledge graph of all the content on the internet and available content in universities and libraries to build a universal knowledge graph that would house the totality of human knowledge. This is not a traditional classification system. The taxonomy and organizational structure would come out of the database which would modify existing classification systems. It would be like a universal library, but it would not have walls or physical limits.
21 comments
[ 4.9 ms ] story [ 55.4 ms ] threadIf you skim the high-level book categories at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Dewey_Decimal_classes, you may conclude this is is beyond a lifetime's work.
I want this so I am not unaware if any field of knowledge. Atleast any significant feild of knowledge
Practically Best possible .
Thank you sir for your response
(Classification systems are very much an information science topic... and they're pretty damn important. Along those same lines - you'll want to think carefully and critically about what is seen as canonical knowledge, and what's "in" those fields, versus what is perceived as "utter crackpot bullshit" that nobody takes seriously. The fields you've mentioned ALL have a significant amount of bleed at the edges - where does math become mathematical physics and then 'really physics' ... it's just not that easy.)
Fanboy comment: just google Eugene Garfield. Have fun!
Okay I got it . But do we have any best possible classification system or map . That is most complete. A map which has tried to capture totality of all known knowledge without leaving anything significant. I want this so I am not unaware of any field of knowledge. Atleast any significant feild of knowledge
Practically Best possible .
As you suggest I read the scheme of library of congress
And there any some more schemes for all human knowledge.
But a question comes in mind that which map should I trust For my needs . Which map has that quality.
This goes well past libraries and into new concepts. Vannevar Bush wrote an article you might find interesting, As We May Think, it is the precursor in many ways to the internet. https://web.mit.edu/sts.035/www/PDFs/think.pdf A book you might also want to read is The World Brain by H.G. Wells which is about a world encyclopedia. Some people say that it is the precursor to Wikipedia. If you want a more comprehensive classification system, the Library of Congress classification system is public domain and deeper than the Dewey Classification system. It is more academic in nature. https://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/lcco/ However, classification systems are limited. There are currently over 13 zettabytes on the internet right now. This is more than any library can hold. We have entered the zettabyte era. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zettabyte_Era
I went on the site But could not find anything much useful But thanks
Yes it's sad but true that may be perfect map does not exits
I think I will have to give up this idea of getting a perfect map
May be in future , it will become possible.
- https://www.rxjourney.net/the-great-ocean-of-truth
Practically Best possible .
Thank you sir for your response
You may want to trace the history of librarianship.
Okay I got it . But do we have any best possible classification system or map . That is most complete. A map which has tried to capture totality of all knowledge without leaving anything significant. I want this so I am not unaware if any field of knowledge. Atleast any significant feild of knowledge
Practically Best possible .
As you suggest I read about librarianship
But a question comes in mind that which map should I trust For my needs . Which map has that quality.
> Indeed, the purpose of an encyclopedia is to collect knowledge disseminated around the globe; to set forth its general system to the men with whom we live, and transmit it to those who will come after us.. -- Denis Diderot
A key word is "ontology", a system or architecture of categories to group entities which represent objects, events, relationships between concepts.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontology_(information_science)
The Dewey Decimal Classes mentioned in another comment is a good start. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Dewey_Decimal_classes
Also..
Basic Register of Thesauri, Ontologies & Classifications - https://bartoc.org/about
Encyclopedia of Knowledge Organization - https://www.isko.org/cyclo/kos
Universal Decimal Classification - https://udcc.org/index.php/site/page?view=subject_coverage
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Honestly, none of the lists are satisfyingly comprehensive. Like a fractal, you can zoom into any one subject, and it branches into more and more specific categories. Wikipedia has various lists and outlines that come closer to what you describe.
Outline of academic disciplines - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outline_of_academic_discipline...
> summary of the world's knowledge, in the form of an outline
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contents/Outlines
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outline_of_knowledge#Knowledge...
Okay I got it . But which is best possible classification system or map . That is most complete. A map which has tried to capture totality of all known knowledge without leaving anything significant. I want this so I am not unaware if any field of knowledge. Atleast any significant feild of knowledge
Practically Best possible .
As you suggest I read all links
But a question comes in mind that which map should I trust For my needs . Which map has that quality.
You'll have to create your own comprehensive outline and classification system. I'd start with an encyclopedic overview.
> Below is a summary of the world's knowledge, in the form of an outline. Each subject in turn links to an outline that summarizes that subject.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contents/Outlines
Each of these expanded:> It is generally understood that all the knowledge humanity currently possesses is finite and organized into distinct areas.
No, this is not generally understood, because it is not true.
You will go insane if you try to classify or map all human knowledge.
Collective human knowledge is finite at any moment and growing and divided into many areas for convenience . We have disciplines such as physics, maths etc.
Yes it is enormous and it seems to Practically extremely difficult to make such a map.
I understood your point
Thank you sir for your response.