Simon Winchester at the Brattle Theatre

Harvard Book Store welcomes SIMON WINCHESTER—New York Times bestselling author of The Professor and the Madman and The Men Who United the States—for a discussion of his new book Knowing What We Know: The Transmission of Knowledge from Ancient Wisdom to Modern Magic.

A Return to In-Person Events

Harvard Book Store is excited to be back to in-person programming. To ensure the safety and comfort of everyone in attendance, the following Covid-19 safety protocols will be in place at all of our Brattle Theatre events until further notice:

• Face coverings are required of all staff and attendees when inside the venue. Masks must snugly cover nose and mouth. At venues where refreshments are served, attendees may briefly unmask when actively eating or drinking.
• To limit contact, books will be pre-signed by the author and can be purchased on-site at the event, while supplies last.

Ticketing

There are two ticket options available for this event.

Book-Included Ticket: Includes admission for one and one hardcover copy of Knowing What We Know: The Transmission of Knowledge from Ancient Wisdom to Modern Magic.

Admission-Only Ticket: Includes admission for one.

About Knowing What We Know

From the creation of the first encyclopedia to Wikipedia, from ancient museums to modern kindergarten classes—this is award-winning writer Simon Winchester’s brilliant and all-encompassing look at how humans acquire, retain, and pass on information and data, and how technology continues to change our lives and our minds.

With the advent of the internet, any topic we want to know about is instantly available with the touch of a smartphone button. With so much knowledge at our fingertips, what is there left for our brains to do? At a time when we seem to be stripping all value from the idea of knowing things—no need for math, no need for map-reading, no need for memorization—are we risking our ability to think? As we empty our minds, will we one day be incapable of thoughtfulness?

Addressing these questions, Simon Winchester explores how humans have attained, stored, and disseminated knowledge. Examining such disciplines as education, journalism, encyclopedia creation, museum curation, photography, and broadcasting, he looks at a whole range of knowledge diffusion—from the cuneiform writings of Babylon to the machine-made genius of artificial intelligence, by way of Gutenberg, Google, and Wikipedia to the huge Victorian assemblage of the Mundanaeum, the collection of everything ever known, currently stored in a damp basement in northern Belgium.

Studded with strange and fascinating details, Knowing What We Know is a deep dive into learning and the human mind. Throughout this fascinating tour, Winchester forces us to ponder what rational humans are becoming. What good is all this knowledge if it leads to lack of thought? What is information without wisdom? Does Rene Descartes’s Cogito, ergo sum—“I think therefore I am,” the foundation for human knowledge widely accepted since the Enlightenment—still hold?

And what will the world be like if no one in it is wise?

Praise for Knowing What We Know

"The acclaimed Winchester leaps nimbly from cuneiform writings through Gutenberg to Google and Wikipedia as he examines Knowing What We Know—that is, how we acquire, retain, and pass on information—and how technology’s current capability to do those things for us might be threatening our ability to think." —Library Journal

“Erudite, digressive, and brimming with fascinating information.” —Kirkus Reviews

"A testament to [Winchester’s] abiding interest in history, human innovation, and his distinctive ability to share his insatiable curiosity with enthusiastic readers . . . Winchester’s sheer joy in imparting what he learns is evident on every page . . . [his] ebullient style and countless irresistible anecdotes and strange facts inspire the reader to knowledge for themselves . . .Essential reading.” —Booklist, starred review