Chan Yew Joe

Books expire. The problem is that no one tells you their expiry date. You only realise it after you’ve paid the price—whether in time, money, or misplaced confidence.

Some call it history. Some call it an archive. Some call it a database.

Concepts are “data containers”.

— Giovanni Sartori

Just because you have a can of fish doesn’t mean the fish inside is still edible. Likewise, just because knowledge is packaged in a book doesn’t mean it is still applicable.

The value of a source depends on how you treat the information and what you want to extract from it.

Archives and longitudinal datasets are valuable for causal inference and time-series analysis. By examining the past, we can better understand the present and, with appropriate caution, make informed projections about the future.

However, every claim has its limits. It is bounded by its assumptions, the conditions under which it was made, the methodology employed, the data sources used, and the phenomenon it sought to explain. Before investing time in a book, ask yourself: What am I trying to glean from it?

If you need current information or raw data, AI tools and APIs are often better sources.

If you are looking for conceptual frameworks, mental models, or detailed case studies, books remain one of the best resources.

If you want precise definitions, rigorous arguments, or the state of scholarly debate, journal articles are usually the better choice.

The key is to find the right kind of information in the right place.

This is also what increasingly differentiates AI models. Their advantage comes not only from the models themselves, but from the quality, freshness, granularity, and accessibility of the data sources they are connected to. Access to first-hand, high-quality information enables them to provide answers that are both more relevant and more useful.

As AI models continue to improve, the competitive advantage will shift even further toward data. Users will increasingly demand information that is more granular, more timely, and closer to the original source.

#刻舟求剑