# The Invisible Cultural System That Turns Knowledge Into Power by Howard Rheingold > “Knowing how to turn knowledge into power is the most powerful form of knowledge. The mindsets, mindtools, and institutions that make massive technological progress possible are all part of an invisible cultural system — it is learned, not inherent, it was invented, not evolved, it hypnotizes you to see the world in a certain way.” > **— Howard Rheingold**, *1999 Edge Annual Question, response passage* ## Sources and Context - **Original Edge response:** [Founder of Electric Minds — Howard Rheingold](https://www.edge.org/response-detail/11716) — a verbatim passage from Howard Rheingold's 1999 Annual Question response, expressing the author's position at the time. The linked response supplies its surrounding context. - **Local archival entry:** [[research/Edge 1999 Full Quotation Curation|Edge 1999 Full Quotation Curation]] (EDGE1999-015). ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Edge|Edge]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Consciousness Continuity|Consciousness Continuity]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Art is Long|The Art is Long]] - **Article:** [[articles/Technologies for Consciousness Mapping and Transfer|Technologies for Consciousness Mapping and Transfer]] - **Article:** [[articles/Digital Darwinism and the Invisible World of Machine Evolution|Digital Darwinism and the Invisible World of Machine Evolution]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Cultural Evolution|Cultural Evolution]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “Knowing how to turn knowledge into power is the most powerful form of knowledge. The mindsets, mindtools, and institutions that make massive technological progress possible are all part of an invisible cultural system — it is learned, not inherent, it was invented, not evolved, it hypnotizes you to see the world in a certain way.” — Howard Rheingold, 1999 Edge Annual Question https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-howard-rheingold-invisible-cultural-system-that-turns ```