The infosphere from which the data are drawn may be global, but it is also English-language only, which may explain why no Chinese thinker is represented in the top 100. There are three eligibility requirements: one has to be working primarily as a thinker; one must be known beyond one’s own discipline; and one must be influential.
GDI旨在识别“与全球总体信息域产生共鸣的思想家和思想”。数据收集所基于的信息域也许是全球的，但也只局限于英语，这也解释了为何中国思想家没有一位名列100强名单。有形的要求有三项：必须以思想家为主业、必须在本身学科之外知名、必须有影响力。