atlas: on knowledge creation

i never expected that most uses of libraries led to knowledge creation … at best i figured for knowledge duplication. i knew that media in the library wasn’t, in itself, knowledge, and i knew they didn’t contain knowledge (they contain representations of information, of course).

i had this idea that knowledge creation ultimately led to the production of the content which is carried by artifacts that others use in libraries. so, in this model, knowledge grows more slowly … and the community doesn’t routinely create new knowledge in great quantities.

have i gotten this wrong? have i underestimated the community? it’s entirely possible (i tend toward pessimism–not only is my glass only half-full, but there’s a big chip taken out of the rim that i have to watch out for … )