--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Because books are written by individuals…" description: "\"Because books are written by individuals, it has often made knowledge seem like the product of individuals, even though everybody has always understood..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/463/david-weinberger-20574_always_because-books-are-written-by-individuals_3064778.jpg" --- # Because books are written by individuals, it has often… ![“Because books are written by individuals, it has often made knowledge seem like the product of individuals, even though everybody has always understood that individuals are working within the social network.” quote by David Weinberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/463/david-weinberger-20574_always_because-books-are-written-by-individuals_3064778.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/463/david-weinberger-20574_always_because-books-are-written-by-individuals_3064778.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/463/david-weinberger-20574_always_because-books-are-written-by-individuals_3064778.jpg) > “Because books are written by individuals, it has often made knowledge seem like the product of individuals, even though everybody has always understood that individuals are working within the social network.” [David Weinberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-weinberger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Knowledge is a collective construct, not solely the product of isolated individuals. **In simple terms:** Ideas come from many people working together. Key Takeaway Recognize the network behind ideas. Themes knowledge collaboration social networks Mood analytical reflective Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - research - education - media - online communities Key Concepts collective intelligence information theory epistemology Questions to Reflect On - How does collaboration shape breakthroughs? - What role do networks play in learning? A Different Perspective Individual credit can obscure shared effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Always](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/always/) [Because](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/because/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Even](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/even/) [Everybody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/everybody/) [Individuals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individuals/) [Individuals Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individuals-knowledge-5157204/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Network](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/network/) [Often](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/often/) [Product](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/product/) [Product Individuals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/product-individuals-5157207/) [Seem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seem/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) [Social network](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-network/) [Though](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/though/) [Understood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understood/) [Understood Individuals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understood-individuals-5157206/) [Within](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/within/) [Working](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working/) [Written](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/written/) [Written Individuals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/written-individuals-5157205/) ## Related quotes > [How your social network - the people that you know, or in your community - understand or value a work can be... a tremendously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-weinberger/how-your-social-network-the-people-that-you-know-or-in-your-community/) [David Weinberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-weinberger/) > [Sometimes the social network can misconstrue things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-homie-quan/sometimes-the-social-network-can-misconstrue-things/) [Rich Homie Quan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-homie-quan/) > [Twitter isn't a social network, it's an information network.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-williams/twitter-isn-t-a-social-network-it-s-an-information-network/) [Evan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-williams/) > [You can follow your favorite company or organization. You can also mix that in with your family and your social network and talk about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-dorsey/you-can-follow-your-favorite-company-or-organization-you-can-also-mix/) [Jack Dorsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-dorsey/) > [I have to say there are a lot of me-too products and companies. Yet another social network, of the 15th flavor - that's common…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-reilly/i-have-to-say-there-are-a-lot-of-me-too-products-and-companies-yet/) [Tim O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-reilly/) > [The Social Network' was probably one of the two or three things I've done in my life that I'm most proud of. I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-rudin/the-social-network-was-probably-one-of-the-two-or-three-things-i-ve/) [Scott Rudin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-rudin/) > [Phones were created as social tools. Smartphones are especially good at being social, integrating text, voice, video and images in an endless number of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-teare/phones-were-created-as-social-tools-smartphones-are-especially-good/) [Keith Teare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-teare/) > [When we founded Facebook, we put a lot of hours into it and worked hard every day. 'The Social Network' painted this picture that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dustin-moskovitz/when-we-founded-facebook-we-put-a-lot-of-hours-into-it-and-worked/) [Dustin Moskovitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dustin-moskovitz/) > [We already have a professor who's using an online social network of MIT alums to help educate students in programming. Just imagine expanding that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anant-agarwal/we-already-have-a-professor-who-s-using-an-online-social-network-of/) [Anant Agarwal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anant-agarwal/) > [Now if you're using Twitter or other social networks, and you didn't realize this was a space with a lot of Brazilians in it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethan-zuckerman/now-if-you-re-using-twitter-or-other-social-networks-and-you-didn-t/) [Ethan Zuckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethan-zuckerman/) > [I prefer to stay away from social network.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suman-ranganathan/i-prefer-to-stay-away-from-social-network/) [Suman Ranganathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suman-ranganathan/) > [When David Fincher called me up a few years ago and said, 'Hey, I'd like you to score this film 'The Social Network,' I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trent-reznor/when-david-fincher-called-me-up-a-few-years-ago-and-said-hey-i-d-like/) [Trent Reznor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trent-reznor/) > [My eldest brother Atticus just won an Oscar some years ago, as he wrote the music for 'The Social Network.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liberty-ross/my-eldest-brother-atticus-just-won-an-oscar-some-years-ago-as-he/) [Liberty Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liberty-ross/) > [Social network has change the way of life as we were used to living. We have a new wave of life changing communication technology…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-rambharack/social-network-has-change-the-way-of-life-as-we-were-used-to-living/) [Glen Rambharack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-rambharack/) > [We see bitcoin as potentially the greatest social network of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-winklevoss/we-see-bitcoin-as-potentially-the-greatest-social-network-of-all/) [Tyler Winklevoss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-winklevoss/) ## More by David Weinberger > [The smartest person in the room, is the room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-weinberger/the-smartest-person-in-the-room-is-the-room/) [David Weinberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-weinberger/) > [Business is a conversation because the defining work of business is conversation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-weinberger/business-is-a-conversation-because-the-defining-work-of-business-is/) [David Weinberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-weinberger/) > [The degree to which campaigns have become dominated by marketing is breaking the spirit of democracy, and we're all just so sick of it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-weinberger/the-degree-to-which-campaigns-have-become-dominated-by-marketing-is/) [David Weinberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-weinberger/) > [Knowledge is now accepted as the best we humans can do at the moment, but with the hope that we will turn out to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-weinberger/knowledge-is-now-accepted-as-the-best-we-humans-can-do-at-the-moment/) [David Weinberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-weinberger/) > [We've organized ourselves as cultures, to a large degree, around what we agree we know. And when you have multiple ways of knowing, multiple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-weinberger/we-ve-organized-ourselves-as-cultures-to-a-large-degree-around-what/) [David Weinberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-weinberger/) > [If explicit metadata is a real problem, it raises problems that just can't be solved. It's not that we're not good at it; it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-weinberger/if-explicit-metadata-is-a-real-problem-it-raises-problems-that-just/) [David Weinberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-weinberger/) > [Personalization is the automatic tailoring of sites and messages to the individuals viewing them, so that we can feel that somewhere there's a piece…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-weinberger/personalization-is-the-automatic-tailoring-of-sites-and-messages-to/) [David Weinberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-weinberger/) > [Business is a conversation because the defining work of business is conversation - literally. And 'knowledge workers' are simply those people whose job consists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-weinberger/business-is-a-conversation-because-the-defining-work-of-business-is-2/) [David Weinberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-weinberger/) > [Metadata liberates us, liberates knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-weinberger/metadata-liberates-us-liberates-knowledge/) [David Weinberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-weinberger/) > [The next darwin is more likely to be a data wonk than a naturalist wandering through an exotic landscape.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-weinberger/the-next-darwin-is-more-likely-to-be-a-data-wonk-than-a-naturalist/) [David Weinberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-weinberger/) > [This is an awesome time to be a knowledge seeker, no better time, but it's also the best time in history to be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-weinberger/this-is-an-awesome-time-to-be-a-knowledge-seeker-no-better-time-but/) [David Weinberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-weinberger/) > [The cure to information overload is more information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-weinberger/the-cure-to-information-overload-is-more-information/) [David Weinberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-weinberger/) > [Knowledge in the Internet Age - networked knowledge - is becoming more like what knowledge has been in the past few hundreds years for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-weinberger/knowledge-in-the-internet-age-networked-knowledge-is-becoming-more/) [David Weinberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-weinberger/) > [How we organize our world reflects not only the world but also our interests, our passions, our needs, our dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-weinberger/how-we-organize-our-world-reflects-not-only-the-world-but-also-our/) [David Weinberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-weinberger/) > [In the digital age, we filter forward instead of filtering out. As a result, all that material is still available to us and to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-weinberger/in-the-digital-age-we-filter-forward-instead-of-filtering-out-as-a/) [David Weinberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-weinberger/) [Explore all 30 David Weinberger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-weinberger/) ## More Always quotes > [I think performing has pretty much always been a part of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isa-briones/i-think-performing-has-pretty-much-always-been-a-part-of-me/) [Isa Briones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isa-briones/) > [I always thought if I was born 2000 years earlier, I would be a monk, probably carving a monastery or some giant pantheon buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenova-chen/i-always-thought-if-i-was-born-2000-years-earlier-i-would-be-a-monk/) [Jenova Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenova-chen/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [It's always great to see old friends, especially those I have not been able to see in 15 months.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-regal/it-s-always-great-to-see-old-friends-especially-those-i-have-not-been/) [William Regal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-regal/) > [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. But when those transitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelli-o-hara/when-you-step-out-and-do-a-song-in-a-musical-the-easier-thing-to-do/) [Kelli O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelli-o-hara/) > [I have really good lateral movement. I've always had quick lateral movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-rivers/i-have-really-good-lateral-movement-i-ve-always-had-quick-lateral/) [Austin Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-rivers/) > [There is something magical about being able to feel somebody. And that is something that has always moved me with music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-brink/there-is-something-magical-about-being-able-to-feel-somebody-and-that/) [Maria Brink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-brink/) > [Mythology is something that always has opportunities to explore. 'It' has been on Earth for millions of years. He's been in contact with humans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-muschietti/mythology-is-something-that-always-has-opportunities-to-explore-it/) [Andy Muschietti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-muschietti/) > [It's not writing in the traditional sense, but I've always said that the writing process continues on the set and even into the editing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-weide/it-s-not-writing-in-the-traditional-sense-but-i-ve-always-said-that/) [Robert B. Weide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-weide/) > [I always watch my matches back 100 times afterwards because that's how I improve. This is something I've always done, even in NXT.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mandy-rose/i-always-watch-my-matches-back-100-times-afterwards-because-that-s/) [Mandy Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mandy-rose/) > [I've always been of the idea that is doesn't really matter where you are geographically - with 'Lonerism,' we made half the album in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-parker/i-ve-always-been-of-the-idea-that-is-doesn-t-really-matter-where-you/) [Kevin Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-parker/) > [It's very easy to fool yourself that you're working, you know, when you're really not working very hard. I mean, I'm very lazy. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-caro/it-s-very-easy-to-fool-yourself-that-you-re-working-you-know-when-you/) [Robert Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-caro/) > [Whether it was Little League or playing with your brothers or sisters, that was always a problem. If I would lose - because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-ripken-jr/whether-it-was-little-league-or-playing-with-your-brothers-or-sisters/) [Cal Ripken, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-ripken-jr/) > [I always say if you put someone from a small town into a big city for ten years, then when they go back, they'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-colter/i-always-say-if-you-put-someone-from-a-small-town-into-a-big-city-for/) [Mike Colter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-colter/) > [Bayern is always a team that can win the Champions League title in Europe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lothar-matthaus/bayern-is-always-a-team-that-can-win-the-champions-league-title-in/) [Lothar Matthaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lothar-matthaus/) [Browse all 36,048 Always quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/always/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Because books are written by individuals, it has often made knowledge seem like the product of individuals, even though everybody has always understood that individuals are working within the social network.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Weinberger" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-weinberger/because-books-are-written-by-individuals-it-has-often-made-knowledge/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Always" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-weinberger/because-books-are-written-by-individuals-it-has-often-made-knowledge/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/463/david-weinberger-20574_always_because-books-are-written-by-individuals_3064778.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/463/david-weinberger-20574_always_because-books-are-written-by-individuals_3064778.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/463/david-weinberger-20574_always_because-books-are-written-by-individuals_3064778.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Because books are written by individuals, it has often made knowledge seem like the product of individuals…” — David Weinberger", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "David Weinberger", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-weinberger/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Because books are written by individuals,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-weinberger/because-books-are-written-by-individuals-it-has-often-made-knowledge/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-weinberger/because-books-are-written-by-individuals-it-has-often-made-knowledge/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```