.. _preface:

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Preface
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Why DMX?
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Its creators describe DMX as a "Knowledge Building Platform". At this moment you may wonder: "are DMX's system designs actually grounded on reflections about Knowledge and its genesis, or is DMX another one of those tech apologists who like to misuse words like *Knowledge*, *Learning* (as in *Machine Learning*), and *Intelligence* (as in *Artificial Intelligence*) to characterize their software creations -- just as if terms which belong to the realm of life for thousands of years could be transferred to the realm of machines as easy as a frog jumps from one water lily to another?" -- Well, this preface is for you.

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Knowledge vs. Information
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Actually the DMX system design, and in particular the DMX user interface, began with the insight that *Knowledge* is not the same as *Information*, and that documents or databases never store Knowledge but Information. That was in early 2000 when *Knowledge Management* was the current hype topic.

    *Knowledge* is not the same as *Information*

Information is reassembled to knowledge in ever changing constellations, based on the *individual*'s current situation. Information becomes knowledge only by individual assessment. Knowledge is created in heads.

    Knowledge is information connected in a *meaningful* way.

What that meaning is depends on:

* the situative context
* the intended purpose
* subjective factors (mood, preconceptions etc.)

At this point it becomes clear that machines do not store knowledge. They never will.