Map of All Known Knowledge
I am a high school student, and I have been thinking about the way knowledge is structured. In schools and universities, we study subjects such as mathematics, physics, biology, and many others. This has led me to wonder: exactly how many subjects exist in total? It is generally understood that all the knowledge humanity currently possesses is finite and organized into distinct areas. I am interested in knowing whether there exists a comprehensive list, table, map, or conceptual framework that captures the entire body of known human knowledge without excluding anything. In other words, I am seeking a complete and exhaustive classification of all subjects, such that no area of knowledge is left unaccounted for. I wish to ensure that I am not unaware of any subject.
14 comments
[ 53.2 ms ] story [ 1030 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 of 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.
- 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 known knowledge without leaving anything significant. I want this so I am not unaware of any field of knowledge. Atleast any significant field of knowledge
Practically Best possible .
As you suggest I read about librarianship
And I got some maps
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.
> 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.