Idea Collider: From a theory of knowledge organization to a theory of knowledge interaction

Abstract

AbstractEditor's SummaryA new and novel addition to core concepts of information science and technology is the Idea Collider, adapting the conceptual basis of the particle accelerator. The Idea Collider is presented as a theory of information and an information retrieval tool that deconstructs text to the underlying elements – the concepts, ideas, knowledge entities, taxons and knowledge bases – and then reconstitutes groupings of data. The authors champion the idea of a “multiverse of knowledge,” in contrast to the “universe of knowledge” that is an important metaphor in traditional classification theory. A historical review of outstanding theoretical landmarks in classification theory explores the universe of knowledge metaphor, faceted classification theory and the universe of concepts, moving from a holistic view of existing knowledge to an elemental deconstruction that can account for all knowledge, past and future. The Idea Collider is proposed as a theoretical approach to identifying the essential parts of knowledge, dissociating those elements from culture‐ and time‐bound dimensions and making them available for a bottom‐up reassembly process.