yleistiedon

Yleistieto, yleistieto or yleistiedon (genitive form) refers to information that is regarded as widely known within a culture or community and thus forms part of everyday background knowledge. It encompasses facts and concepts that people are expected to recognize or understand without needing specialized training.

The scope of yleistieto is relative to the audience, culture, and time. Typical elements include basic geographic facts, widely taught historical events, common scientific concepts, and everyday social norms. What counts as general knowledge can vary between generations, languages, and professional communities, and it evolves as education, media, and society change.

Yleistieto is distinguished from specialized or expert knowledge. While general knowledge enables effective communication and participation in common tasks, specialized knowledge requires specific training, methods, and terminology. In education and cognitive science, background knowledge like yleistieto is considered to support comprehension and learning new material, as it helps readers and listeners connect new information to existing mental frameworks.

Acquisition of yleistieto occurs through schooling, media consumption, family and peer interactions, and cultural practices. It is reinforced socially but also contested, since what is deemed 'common' knowledge can reflect cultural biases or power relations. Critics caution that overreliance on presumed general knowledge may exclude minority perspectives or fortify stereotypes.

See also: general knowledge, background knowledge, cultural capital.