One very commonly used diagram in marketing and sales by analytics providers, which is hardly ever credited to its author is the Information Ladder
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_ladder
The information ladder is a diagram created by education professor Norman Longworth to describe the stages in human learning. According to the ladder, a learner moves through the following progression to construct “wisdom” at the highest level from “data” at the lowest level:
- Data →
- Information →
- Knowledge →
- Understanding →
- Insight →
- Wisdom
Whereas the first two steps can be scientifically exactly defined, the upper parts belong to the domain of psychology and philosophy.
I sometimes think the information ladder and especially the latter two parts are underutilized, under-quantified as metrics and rarely understood completely by the wise men in analytics and information display.
Some visual versions are below
Funny enough, it is one of the rare concepts first inspired by poetry-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DIKW
The earliest formalized distinction between wisdom, knowledge, and information may have been made by poet and playwright T.S. Eliot
Where is the Life we have lost in living?
Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?
DECISION STATS 