The Role of Time in the Creation of Knowledge

TL;DR

This paper models human knowledge creation as a sequential decision process influenced by stochastic information transmission, highlighting the role of time and entropy in optimizing knowledge growth.

Contribution

It introduces a novel model linking time, information, and decision-making to understand human knowledge development and suggests experimental applications.

Findings

Decision function involves subjective entropy and environmental parameters.

Model enables psychometric experiments with simulated and real decision-makers.

Highlights the importance of stochastic information in knowledge creation.

Abstract

This paper I assume that in humans the creation of knowledge depends on a discrete time, or stage, sequential decision-making process subjected to a stochastic, information transmitting environment. For each time-stage, this environment randomly transmits Shannon type information-packets to the decision-maker, who examines each of them for relevancy and then determines his optimal choices. Using this set of relevant information-packets, the decision-maker adapts, over time, to the stochastic nature of his environment, and optimizes the subjective expected rate-of-growth of knowledge. The decision-maker's optimal actions, lead to a decision function that involves, over time, his view of the subjective entropy of the environmental process and other important parameters at each time-stage of the process. Using this model of human behavior, one could create psychometric experiments using computer simulation and real decision-makers, to play programmed games to measure the resulting human performance.