Very close by, my post and my comments on it Knowledge Workers Are Changed by the Information They Process.

The post itself is the output of my notes on productivity, work, and writing. The trigger for me to write the post was reading the paper linked there.

An excerpt from one of my notes on the paper:

The valuable output of knowledge workers is the result of the individual’s processing of knowledge and experiences. They are literally informed, from the Latin roots “to shape.”1 Tools which embed a model of a knowledge worker’s task in the software do not add value.

A linked note "Busyness Is Not Productivity", observes, "Knowledge work, deep work, doesn’t look busy and can’t be measured quantitatively. Knowledge work isn’t in the tasks performed."

I drew from a few other notes related knowledge work, including:

"Knowledge Isn't Rote Memorization", which is mostly about pedagogy but includes this quote from Plutarch:

the mind does not require filling like a bottle, but rather, like wood, it only requires kindling to create in it an impulse to think independently and an ardent desire for the truth

"The Writing is Not the Outcome of Learning", commenting on Ahrens How to Take Smart Notes chapter 5, “Writing Is the Only Thing That Matters", led me to "The Writing is the Point", again referencing Ahrens, "Writing is Remembering", where I wrote, "for important things we experience and wish to understand, learn, and work with, writing them down is the key action that enables, and in a real sense is our memory and learning".

I have a few other notes related to writing and productivity, but those were the main ones. From there I was able to construct my post.

I hope this is useful.

For etymology and usage of "inform" I consulted the Webster's 1913 dictionary entry. Why? James Somer's 2014 blog post, You’re probably using the wrong dictionary reminded me how a good dictionary is an essential writing tool. I highly recommend, if you write a lot, giving the old dictionary a shot. Of course there are many modern words it won't have, but it has all the words you use most.