During a Skype with Jon:
Would you be able to write something on the ‘communal knowing idea’ that knowing is not simply contained within individuals, but has an important interpersonal dimension and also on the different natures of knowing “muscial, linguistic, logical-mathematical, bodily, kinesthetic, naturalist, interpersonal”
I think it needs expanding. And articulating, but I don’t think I could do it straight out without a bit of research.
It also relates to some of your last posts I feel. And that article I sent you might have some vague connections via quantum physics.
OK Jon. But seems illogical for one person to spout a post on communal knowing.
So how about it? What do people think?
Personally I think knowledge is shared more than we think. And, reflecting more on the comment I made in the last post, I think it’s part of the battle for participation against domination that we a) admit it, and b) work towards it by sharing knowledge on a level playing field. For me that’s a work of the Spirit. Anti-domination. Anti-centralization. Anti-gnostic. If there’s such a thing.
Here’s a link to download the article on Quantum Physics and the Rebirth of the Soul.
It’s a scanned PDF, so about 2.5 Mb.
Technorati Tags: Complexity, Emerging Church
Comments
5 responses to “Communal/Distributed Knowledge?”
Interstingly enough a friend of mine just finished his diploma thesis about a similar topic: How is knowledge bound to be in relationships. He is very innovative in linking this to the development of Web2.0. The Thesis won’t be available in english, but he has an english blog and an interessting post to observe would be:http://tautoko.biz/archives/2005/the-similarities-of-web-20-and-the-emerging-church/
I personaly think that both, knowledge and wisdom can only be achieved through relation and interaction with one another. Even books really lead to the questions about the author and his character. We learn socially and Prov. 1, 7 gives a hint in that direcion.
Greetings from germany, Karlsruhe!
Bjoern
Absolutely. Perhaps knowledge can be obtained alone. But not wisdom.
With the web ‘democratizing information’ is it possible to see a future space where all information is knowable by any person at any time? A sort of info-entropy, where all energy (knowledge) is distributed equally.
And what would this sort of future be like? Dreadfully boring, probably. With no alarms and no surprises. Doubtless the financial markets would have collapsed, as they rely entirely on information vacuums.
In other words, distributed knowledge is good. But only to a point. It is not that everybody should know everything. Rather, that knowledge is shared. So I need you, because I have a gap in my knowledge.
We ought to stop loading Pastors up with knowledge and dropping them into situations to vomit it up. We should share the training. The resourcing.
This is the way of the gift. My lack brings us together, promotes relationship. In the market, my lack leaves me needing cash.
this is excellent – very Senge in lots of ways. i did my masters in organisational learning – unearthing what a community doesn’t know it knows – its intuitive knowledge. i love this stuff.
i turned down a conference gig on the weekend. your post captures why. i love doing workshops – i’ll do them till i’m blue in the face – but that’s because, even if i go into a workshop as the (alleged) expert on a topic, if i facilitate it well i come out knowing much more than i did going in. if i’m speaking at a conference there’s no chance for anyone else to influence the outcome. and my wisdom or knowledge on its own isn’t enough.
knowledge is always contextual too. i’m writing a paper at the moment about all the things i’ve had to unlearn as i’ve moved from one role in the church to another. they were universal truths in that last role, so much so that i never had to question them. they’re no longer true in this one.
Good on you Cheryl – that’s a great step.
Unlearning is hard, but does beautifully flag up how contextual our knowledge is.
I remember talking to a management consultant some years ago, who said that his job involved going into companies and basically saying “Give me your watch, and I’ll tell you the time.”
In other words, sometimes we need other/The Other/Tricksters?DirtMongers to come in and help us to see the very things that we ‘know’ – but because they are shared/assumed knowledge they are almost invisible.
So think: what do I/we know that we forgot we knew. Find out this, a learning begins. Forget it, and we circle past the old things again and again.
So, in Eden there was this tree of Knowledge. What I’m wondering is why Eve didn’t go for the Tree of Wisdom?