• Noise becomes data when it has a cognitive pattern.
• Data becomes information when assembled into a coherent whole, which can be related to other information.
• Information becomes knowledge when integrated with other information in a form useful for making decisions and determining actions.
• Knowledge becomes understanding when related to other knowledge in a manner useful in anticipating, judging and acting.
• Understanding becomes wisdom when informed by purpose, ethics, principles, memory and projection.

[ Linda Stone, who coined the phrase Continuous Partial Attention back in the nineties, paraphrases Dee Hock, ex Visa CEO and director of the Chaordic Alliance, during her etech 2006 keynote on attention. ]