Knowing What We Know

‘A delightful compendium of the kind of facts you immediately want to share with anyone you encounter’ New York Times

‘An ebullient, irrepressible spirit invests this book. It is erudite and sprightly’Sunday Times

From the creation of the first encyclopedia to Wikipedia, from ancient museums to modern kindergarten classes―here is award-winning writer Simon Winchester’s brilliant and all-encompassing look at how humans acquire, retain, and pass on information and data, and how technology continues to change our lives and our minds.

With the advent of the internet, any topic we want to know about is instantly available with the touch of a smartphone button. With so much knowledge at our fingertips, what is there left for our brains to do? At a time when we seem to be stripping all value from the idea of knowing things – no need for maths, no need for map reading, no need for memorisation – are we risking our ability to think? As we empty our minds, will we one day be incapable of thoughtfulness?