Response to Information Architecture article

This article was very interesting because it brought up some common misconceptions that many people have about learning. I thought the chart he presents of understanding was interesting; before this article I've never fully tried to distinguish the difference between data and information and knowledge. I think that these are all the crucial pieces in the learning process and we, as students, should define them better so that we can more accurately take in what we're learning.

I found Wuirman's ideas in ignorance and how we allow ourselves to do just about anything to avoid ignorance intriguing. I think that his description on accepting and allowing that you don't know everything will allow you to relax, allow you to be more open to learning more. This admission will then mean that you are less distracted from learning instead of trying to hide ignorance on a topic.

I connected with his viewpoint on the way that we have been socialized to not admit ignorance. To this, he brings up the fact that we must associate being able to ask questions as being productive and good, rather than our current viewpoint that answering questions is looked upon as better than asking questions. Throughout my elementary, high school and college years, there has been the general idea that "no question is a stupid question" in order to provoke us to ask questions. However, I do believe that there is that underlying worry that by asking a question, therefore admitting that you don't know something, may be harmful.

While I agree with Wuirman's idea that we must basically "resocialize" ourselves to internalize that asking questions is productive, it seems to be a concept more easily said than done for some people. I am pretty shy in the classroom, especially with people that I don't know or if the class is large. This often stops me from asking questions: a worry that it might be something that I should already know or something that I could figure out on my own.