Just how social is knowledge?

A reply to Steve Bath

Social influences on our thinking, language, mental models, relationships, ontologies and worldview(s) are pervasive, subtle and often difficult to discern. My POV is 'personal' knowledge, individual decision making and personal innovation tend to overlook, subjugate or ignore the very roots of our being and 'knowing'.

The role of social construction can be seen in cultural bias

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_bias

what we come to 'know', we largely inherit via our exchanges, language, culture or community.

Reality and 'knowledge' is a function of what we build from experience and are 'told' by our peers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_construction

Let's return to Steve's questions:

>>Do your unseen colleagues classify as "deep listening" the intentional misinterpretation and misrepresentation of other people¹s ideas in order to improve the rhetorical efficiency of your claims?

Intentional misrepresentation is rather strong - I'm expounding my assumptions around PKM - clearly you do not agree.

>>Do your peers condone as "creative abrasion" the extreme characterizations designed to create conflict where none need exist?

Holding divergent views does help to surface new perspectives. If we all rush to occupy the center, what will we have gained from the exchange?

>>As far as I can tell, you are the only one who sees discussion of personal knowledge management as a threat to knowledge sharing, creation and exchange.

My issues are with an internal focus, personal branding, organization & arrangement of information objects, voicing 'thoughts' without engaging in dialog, trumpeting the primacy of personal knowledge. This I see as fencing the commons and a common view of PKM.

>>Speaking for myself, PKM is first and foremost about taking personal responsibility for one¹s own individual and participative efforts in learning, sharing and knowledge work.

My position is our knowledge originates, is created, vetted and shared in a social not a private world, that we need to work at improving our aggregate awareness, community inquiry, cultivate safe places and build relationships. Knowledge is a collective skill, you cannot do it alone.

Thanks for engaging