This article is an excerpt from the Shortform book guide to "The Design of Everyday Things" by Don Norman. Shortform has the world's best summaries and analyses of books you should be reading.
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What is “head knowledge” and how is it different from “knowledge of the world?” How do these two types of knowledge relate to design?
Head knowledge refers to any information stored in your mind. This can range from phone numbers you’ve memorized to knowing how to complete a task, like sewing on a button.
Keep reading to find out about head knowledge and how different types of knowledge affect how we process information.
“Head Knowledge” vs. “Knowledge in the World”
Norman refers to any information stored solely in memory as “knowledge in the head” or “head knowledge” This applies to things like passwords on your computer (unless you’ve written them down) as well as knowing how to use a computer in the first place. Head knowledge can be either declarative or procedural.
- Declarative knowledge is knowledge of something (like knowing your address or the fact that red traffic lights mean stop). Anything that can be written as a fact is declarative knowledge, regardless of whether it’s true. You may know for a fact that Thomas Edison invented the lightbulb, and that knowledge might impact how you think about the technology of lightbulbs in general—the fact that Edison did not actually invent the lightbulb is not important in your interaction with that technology. This is one type of knowledge in the head.
- Procedural knowledge is “knowledge how.” This applies to things we do without being able to precisely explain how we do them. Procedural knowledge is built up with repeated practice and can’t be easily taught to someone else. A master musician can describe the notes she plays and the time signature, but she probably can’t articulate the flow of her movements as she actually plays. Even describing the mechanics of playing an instrument (“I put the first finger of my left hand here, and strum this string with my right hand”) is not the same as truly knowing how to do it—if it were, all it would take to master any skill would be to read about it.
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Here's what you'll find in our full The Design of Everyday Things summary :
- How psychology plays a part in the design of objects you encounter daily
- Why pushing a door that was meant to be pulled isn't your fault
- How bad design leads to more human errors
