Sphir

The Sphir concept has two connected ideas at its core. First, information is not knowledge and knowledge is not wisdom. Second, we are wiser together than any one of us is alone. Information is everywhere and to us, is akin to empty calories. We live in a world of information overload, where we’re deluged by more than we can process or use to make sensible decisions, and we all struggle with the “paradox of choice” — the more options we have, the less happy we usually are. Knowledge; the facts and data gained through education or experience, is also available all over the Internet and holds some mental nutritional value. Yet, in the competitive online marketplace, that which is truly beneficial is often indistinguishable from well-marketed misinformation disguised as knowledge. Wisdom by contrast, is the voice of experience, the successfully internalized and conveyed knowledge of a person, group, society, or culture. Miles Kington clarified this concept when he said, “Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing that a tomato doesn’t belong in a fruit salad.” At Sphir, we firmly believe that it is not information nor knowledge, but wisdom that has the power to truly change our lives for the better. In addition, we know the tremendous benefit of one person’s context, experience, and lessons learned can be amplified a hundred-fold if collected and shared in a meaningful way. The Sphir technology just makes the finding, keeping and sharing of our wisdom easier to do. The story of Sphir is really the story of everyone who believes it is possible to find and work with others to curate the best solutions to life's challenges, build communities without the distortion of commercial interests, and elevate our “social” interactions to a level on which critical debate, honest discourse, respectful disagreement, and an unyielding pursuit of truth can exist in the same space as humor, beauty and the lighter side of life.