For years, we've been bludgeoned with the cliche "information is power." But information isn't power. After all, who's got the most information in your neighborhood? Librarians. And they're famous for having no power at all. And who has the most power in your community? Politicians. And they're notorious for being ill-informed.

Data isn't information. ... Information, unlike data, is useful. While there's a gulf between data and information, there's a wide ocean between information and knowledge. What turns the gears in our brains isn't information, but ideas, inventions, and inspiration. Knowledge-not information-implies understanding. And beyond knowledge lies what we should be seeking: wisdom.

I spend almost as much time figuring out what's wrong with my computer as I do actually using it.

Minds think with ideas, not information No amount of data, bandwidth, or processing power can substitute for inspired thought.

If we built houses the way we build software, the first woodpecker to come along would destroy civilization.

Computers force us into creating with our minds and prevent us from making things with our hands. They dull the skills we use in everyday life.

Data isn't information, any more than fifty tons of cement is a skyscraper.