Thursday, September 07, 2006

DIKUW - Definitions (cont): Knowledge

Knowledge — knowing who, what, where, when, why, how — refers to information a sentient being recognizes (detects/identifies/is aware of) and recalls (recollects/remembers), either consciously or unconsciously. This knowledge “emerges” as people communicate (share information) through conversations, non-verbal interactions, and media (books, movies, music, TV, etc.).

Knowledge built on a foundation of invalid or unreliable information, is faulty/erroneous knowledge. Sound knowledge, on the other hand, may come from scientific and rational validation (methods of observation and logic), or through other forms of social consensus. Regardless of how knowledge is validated, it is a "relative truth" (i.e., truth limited to the methods of validation, which may be proven wrong in some way at some time); it is not an "absolute truth” (i.e., truth that transcends human validation and reflects a universal reality that cannot ever be proven wrong).

Knowledge is actually belief if, instead of being validated, it is based on faith.

Note that a case can be made for the existence of “machine knowledge,” which refers to a computer’s ability to recognize and recall information using rules/algorithms, as well as to a mechanical object’s ability to use gears, circuits, etc.

There are different "forms" of knowledge in a contiuum from highly tacit to clearly explicit. The following is quoted from Denham Grey's blog:
Tacit knowledge is closely related to intuition, gut feelings, compiled experiences and skills. This tacit stuff is very hard to explain, it comes from exposure, arises out of repeated learnings, consists of deeply held feelings and beliefs. Tacit knowledge allows us to reason without logic, to act without reflection and to make sense of new situations.

Implicit knowledge sits in the middle. Here we are able to model, explain, draw, surface, share insights and explicate beliefs. This often requires time, deep reflection, dialog, introspection and mulling around.

Explicit knowledge is documented, illustrated, captured, stored and retrievable. It takes many forms from transcripts, to business rules, from detailed definitions to evolving scripts e.g. such as we see in wikipedia or video sequences.

Not everyone will impute the same meaning to explicit knowledge, personal or group interpretations are context and time dependent and biased by each individuals own tacit knowledge.

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