The representation of the relationships among data, information, knowledge and -- ultimately -- wisdom, known as the data pyramid, has long been part of the language of information science.

In it, I explain why the Tree of Knowledge is a "descriptive metaphysical system" for mapping both the enterprise of science and the picture of reality it gives us.

Technology Inside knowledge: What wisdom will live on once we're gone It's AD 3700, and Homo sapiens is no more than a memory. History suggests some of our knowledge will outlive us – but ...