Knowledge is Power

Sorry for this being late. . .internet was out in our entire apartment complex for a couple hours this morning.

Knowledge is Power

Throughout history, there have been several knowledge institutions that have served to transmit knowledge between individuals and among groups of people.  Some of these knowledge institutions include: Folk Knowledge; Oral Knowledge; Written Knowledge and Printed Knowledge.  As one institution shifts to another, there are apparent remnants of each previous institution within the current institution.  The studying of such paradigm shifts allows us to discover how our current forms of knowledge institutions came to be.  While some may argue that when one knowledge institution shifts to another the previous institution is largely forgotten, it is actually the previous institution that has a notable impact on the design and limits of the new institution.

The most basic of these knowledge institutions is Folk Knowledge.  Folk knowledge is the informal transmission of knowledge---sometimes referred to as the “mother tongue”---without the constructs of schools, libraries, professors---sometimes referred to as “father tongue”.  Folk knowledge is most commonly witnessed among family members and friends.  Examples of folk knowledge include facial expressions, a mother’s warnings to a child to avoid talking to strangers, or teaching another how to cook.  As we discussed the concepts of “mother tongue” and “father tongue” in class on Tuesday, we realized that folk knowledge has elements of the next method of knowledge transmission: Oral Knowledge.

Oral Knowledge is the transmission of knowledge through oral and spoken mediums.  Folk knowledge is expressed, largely, through oral transmission methods, such as the mother’s warnings. Folk knowledge influences the oral transmission of knowledge because it creates a need for a certain language to be made to express the thoughts or actions associated to the desired knowledge to be transmitted.  In our discussion in class, however, we discovered that oral knowledge is a convenient form to express thoughts, but it makes referring to previous comments difficult.  Because of this, the transition to Written Knowledge became desired.

Written Knowledge is the transmission of knowledge through writing on a medium.  With my “Rosetta Stone” group, I researched the writing mediums and language of Ancient Greece.  We discovered that the writing medium was chosen to best express the desired knowledge.  Oral knowledge played a very key role in determining the writing mediums, as people wanted to write whatever they would have said.  Certain money-dealing accounts were transcribed in clay because it was easy to be indented with letters and then be cooked to be made more solid.  For plays, songs, and letters, however, using clay was not the most preferred medium because it became too fragile to carry around once fired (as we discovered with our clay project as well).  The oral traditions of transmitting knowledge became very influential to the design and use of writing mediums.  For some, the current writing mediums of the time were not effective or convenient enough to express thoughts, so a new form of knowledge transmission was desired: Printed Knowledge.

Written knowledge became so effective for the preserving of oral knowledge that it soon became a necessity to transfer knowledge faster.  Thus, the printing press and other forms of printing became popular.  After Johannes Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press in the 15^th Century, and further enhancements of the invention in the Enlightenment era, printing became the most preferred knowledge transmission method.  Printing thus significantly helped the development of libraries and book production.  Printing is even still a very popular transmission method.  It has influenced the development of our current digital age.  Webpages and computers reflect modern printing methods. 

The shifts between knowledge institutions have created a great cause for attention.  When we understand the purposes of certain knowledge institutions as well as the need for the next institution, then we may begin to understand how our current knowledge institutions will influence future knowledge transmission methods.