The present era, characterized by its wealth of knowledge, introduces numerous features, particularly through advanced tools that facilitate the transfer and dissemination of knowledge among researchers and recipients worldwide.
The paramount tools enabling this knowledge era are technological means renowned for their widespread accessibility and expansive reach, continually expanding across all corners of the globe.
One significant feature facilitated by these tools in the age of knowledge is the concept of “knowledge flow.” This implies that research outcomes achievable a decade ago using technology differ from the results attainable today. Similarly, a year from now, those results will diverge from the current ones. Human knowledge found in contemporary books and literature serves as a condensed representation of experiences and accumulations reflecting extended periods of research and cognitive practice. In the technological context, this knowledge becomes a summary of human experiences and a substantial accumulation through the continuous flow of knowledge—a river feeding from wells and transforming into an additional reservoir in the depths of the earth.
Regarding the “knowledge flow” feature itself and its consumers, it echoes the sentiment expressed by writer Mike Reagan: “Few are those who drink from the source of knowledge…the majority are only gargling with it.”
The primary objective within the intricacies of “knowledge flow” and knowledge practice, closely entwined with the knowledge economy, is to strive toward cultivating thinking generations proficient in analysis, research, and critical thinking. We aim for generations not dependent on indoctrination, memorization, and transferrable thinking, prevalent in the past as a natural outcome of the realization that scientific success hinges on test results. These results necessitate answering a series of questions designed to compel learners towards the method of memorization and receptive thinking. However, the essence of science lies in the ability to critically practice in all its forms and branches. Leveraging the “knowledge flow” feature enables active participation in knowledge production, granting recipients, researchers, and knowledge seekers expansive freedom for scientific practice rooted in analysis, questioning, research, and conclusion.
Scientific regulations have incorporated this task as a fundamental aspect of higher and academic education. The question arises as to whether the core basis, relying on memorization, parental indoctrination, and transmitted scientific behavior, allows higher education to distinguish itself in producing authentic knowledge that contributes to prosperity, progress, and service to humanity. Moreover, there should be room for greater freedom in the early stages of questioning, surpassing the constraints of transferrable thinking. Gradually acquiring the tools of criticism and practicing them early on allows the creation and production of knowledge, extending beyond academic levels, as dependence on memorization and transferrable thinking only produces generations afflicted by mental paralysis.
In essence, what the “knowledge flow” feature offers to researchers and knowledge recipients distinguishes them from transient consumers or students, akin to owning a boat at sea. Progressing requires more than merely paddling left and right. It demands strategic navigation to ensure advancement amid the vast sea of knowledge growing increasingly dynamic each day. The narrative continues, delving deeper into these insights.
Author : Manahel Thabet
Published January 30 2022
Al Bayan Newspaper
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