Knowledge and Social Fragility
The idea of this buzz erupted from a comment that @John Rylance wrote on my buzz “Seas of Creativity”. In his comment John mentioned the Observer Ignorance. I found myself asking about the merits of ignorance and my subsequent thoughts resulted in this buzz.
Are ignorance and knowledge the opposites that co-exist? The more we know, the more we discover how much more we don’t know. We increase our knowledge, but more we increase our ignorance. How much do we know about software compared to what we know? How much do we know about computers and how they work? How much do we know about MRI technology? We tend to become more focused on doing few things right because the vast technological advances make us chase our shadows if we try to explore deeply more than a few of them.
We increase our knowledge, but more we increase our ignorance
Ali Anani
I feel my modified “knowledge funnel” reflects my thoughts on my observation of our increasing ignorance.
Anani Knowledge Funnel
We keep on more and more specialization and developing niches. Because of this trend we develop also an increasing need to work with others and connect with them. For example, chemists and non-chemists to collaborate on many areas related to our expertise such as analytical chemists who have niche specialties who are familiar with other new techniques and instruments in determining the structure of flavors. This trend results in increasing inter-dependencies and the emerging of new niche fields and experts. A long-tail of expertise results with the increased need to collaborate even more.
So, we end up with a system that is progressively trending to more connections and less resilience. A “fragility gap” arises. At some point the system reaches criticality and disrupts to release new structure and self-organized arrangement. Is the advancement of technology is creating “fragile social structures”?
The emerging of highly-specialized and niche knowledge-related jobs is changing our world. No one can do everything on his own and need to connect with other professionals for advice. The more connected we get; the more is the possibility of developing fragility.
Is knowledge leading us to social fragility and subsequent disruption and social self-organization? I love to listen to your thoughtful comments.
I am adding this text in response to the comment #14 by my friend Debasish Majumder. The growth of technology and knowledge in various fields lead to the next phase of conservation. In this phase resilience declines because of the increased interconnections due to the increased number of specialists with narrow niches. This leads to the release stage or disruptive creation and then to self-organization. This process is fractal meaning that the major cycle scale is just a replication of the minor one. I call this The Panarchy of knowledge.
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التعليقات
Ali Anani
منذ 4 سنوات #65
Very interesting idea and I suggest the "Confirmation bias funnel" as a new type of funnel. Either we realize that we need to connect with other specialty funnels or we get limited by our confirmation bias. This is a tunnel bias where we see only what we know and as you stated Harvey Lloyd we try to extend the applications to irrelevant events. We should be aware that the more we know, the less we know.
Harvey Lloyd
منذ 4 سنوات #64
Ali Anani
منذ 4 سنوات #63
Ali Anani
منذ 4 سنوات #62
Ali Anani
منذ 4 سنوات #61
Great and so we shall see more productive engagements from you dear Clau Valerio
Ali Anani
منذ 4 سنوات #60
You an an exceptional person dear Clau Valerio and believe me I learn a lot from you too. That is why I feel unhappy that you are so busy to share more buzzes. We need your brains. I thank you also for your constant support, appreciation and sharing this buzz.
Ali Anani
منذ 4 سنوات #59
Well, the spelling mistakes in my comment 71 tells the price of writing fast. Maybe I ran out of wool.
John Rylance
منذ 4 سنوات #58
As my mother -in-law used to say "I'm knitting fast so that I will finish before I run out of wool"
Ali Anani
منذ 4 سنوات #57
Then how about fast thinkers and fats decision[makers?
Ali Anani
منذ 4 سنوات #56
Ali Anani
منذ 4 سنوات #55
My pleasure dear Preston \ud83d\udc1d Vander Ven
Ali Anani
منذ 4 سنوات #54
As much as concise your comment is, I wonder how could you make it shorter my dear Jerry!
Ali Anani
منذ 4 سنوات #53
I like your funnel-like approach. It is healthy. It allows you to know and strengthen what you specialize in and at the same time to be aware of advancements elsewhere. WE have a saying here that I could translate crudely here "give the flower to the baker". You know how to apply this rule. You remind me of music concert. The mastro has the general knowledge to lead and synchronize the music from musicians. Each musician is an expert in his musical instruments. Yes, it is like playing music..
Jerry Fletcher
منذ 4 سنوات #52
Dr. Ali. As Blaise Pascal said: "I have made this letter longer than usual, only because I have not had the time to make it shorter." And so it goes.
Ali Anani
منذ 4 سنوات #51
Dear Jerry- it is the longest comment I have ever read by you and I am glad that you did. You lived the experience and so your comment is filled with wisdom. The historical background you cover in your comment makes a great point to the discussions. I am glad you used Harvey Lloyd word potential instead of ignorance. It all depends on our capacity to utilize our potential. Your experience with the indirect physics explanations is a strong point to illustrate this potential. I am deeply grateful for your excellent contribution to the discussion.
Jerry Fletcher
منذ 4 سنوات #50
Ali Anani
منذ 4 سنوات #49
Ali Anani
منذ 4 سنوات #48
In my buzz on eddies I mentioned that fish "pause" in teddies and slight move only their necks' muscles till the eddies fade away. This ties up nicely with your idea "The rapids of life gives us pause ". This is what we should do. I agree with you. There is what we call elastic potential such as that we find in springs. This "elasticity" we need when we merge old knowledge with new knowledge. This mixing may generate eddies. We need to rest the spring!!!
Harvey Lloyd
منذ 4 سنوات #47
Giving some thought towards “eddies not being expected” i would say that principal based thoughts eddies are unexpected and challenging for ones self awareness. Knowledge however has many eddies. Specifically as we generalize past knowledge with new knowledge. New meaning “new to me”. The rapids of life gives us pause and should be expected as we venture into new chaotic understanding, made available by new knowledge. Great thought as we dissect the eddies and potential within them.
Ali Anani
منذ 4 سنوات #46
Right now, I started to outline my thoughts based on these exchanges of comments. Your comments strengthened me and not the eddy.
Harvey Lloyd
منذ 4 سنوات #45
If we enter a relational challenge (personally or socially media) from a perspective of ignorance it lays the foundation of our exit. Should we enter with the idea of potential then our exit is the possibility of assisting one out of the eddy. A perspective of ignorance will almost certainly secure the strength of the eddy holding the individual. As always your group of comments tend to expand knowledge beyond our little silos of existance.
Ali Anani
منذ 4 سنوات #44
Ali Anani
منذ 4 سنوات #43
I don't dispute your differentiation between ignorance and potential. I shall care more to use potential in replacement. However; sometimes we use common familiar words to explain our thoughts without even sensing it. There ia another point that reinforces your idea of potential. You wrote "We can see the potential of the ignorance. Wine is something else before it is good". No matter how good wine is it is not for me. It is the last thing I would consider drinking it. For you it is a potential. For me it is not because it isn't for me. How to increase potential is another issue that need more attention.
Harvey Lloyd
منذ 4 سنوات #42
I am reminded of your previous post concerning the rocks and eddies. Within the eddy am i ignorant or reshaping my knowledge according to my potential?
Harvey Lloyd
منذ 4 سنوات #41
I am not a fan of the word ignorance. It is a comparative word and isolates the affected. Potential is a word that is only used to address the individuals core competencies within success. No comparison to outside measures. In social media folks display their potetial for varing reasons. We can see the potential of the ignorance. Wine is something else before it is good, but all through the process the potential is “good”. This gets to perspective. I find it easier to work with potential rather than ignorance. Potential is explorative where ignorance is competitive to some standard. I must say though that i too am put off by the arrogance of perceived intelligence. 2+2=5 can be pursued with great passion. Humble intelligence is explorative and inviting.
Ali Anani
منذ 4 سنوات #40
It isn't accidental that we have potential energy. As you said before, knowledge is power. We have potential energy that changes to other forms. Not only we differ in our potential, but also in turning this potential into a driving force. Some dissipate this energy wastefully; other have high conversion ratio. You see Harvey Lloyd . I may translate her comment in saying that some people turn their potential not only waste to themselves, but also to waste other peoples' time.
Harvey Lloyd
منذ 4 سنوات #39
Excellent point. One of the major points that holds self together is the principals upon which we float. It is also one of the most dangerous aspects of humanity. We defend good and bad principals with the same vigor. In a self awareness campaign we must accept that experiences, education and beliefs came from somewhere and that i could be floating on principals that have yet to be challenged. This is a point of contention for me. Our entire life is wrapped in some principle of living. A challenge to these principals can set forth a challenge of our perceived past greatness to realize we were a tyrant. (Extreme but making a point.). It is this self awareness that brings forth the highly defensive feedback. Specifically in social media. No one wants to review their past actions through a different lens. Especially if it changes the perception negatively. In social media we are seeing the ebb and flow of each participant and their principals forming through challenges. Its not vetted information to hang your hat. Your cautionary tale is one we should all heed and filter based on the evolving principals on display.
Ali Anani
منذ 4 سنوات #38
Dear Lada \ud83c\udfe1 Prkic #43 then the value of your comment becomes more evident. You are not off topic. In contrast, you are in the middle stream of it. You highlight a very valid point in that the dissemination of misleading knowledge is easy and cost-less and that we are buried sometimes with unreliable posts. These people are self-driven towards fame and other selfish motivators. This is one big issue that I should have at least mentioned in the buzz. So, I thank you for bringing this issue to our attention. Knowledge is like opal mineral. What colors of an opal you see depends on the angle you watch it. So, I highly respect your point on divergent views. If we realize that the more we know, the less we know then we become tolerant to opposing views with the hope that such differences shall not bring personal insults and degrading.
Harvey Lloyd
منذ 4 سنوات #37
I would state that yes we need to examine our perspectives within division of these two points. Is ignorance something that can be overcome, either by choice or need? Each of us has potential. The questions is does this potential meet the current expectation in task? We see this potential in children. But expectations of potential changes when considering adults. If we see the potential of each human in opposition to undeveloped potential (Ignorance) it changes the interface. Unfortunately knowledge has also brought with it standards of measurement through comparison. Somewhat alienating potential. Not everyone can be an astronaut. Everyone can reach their best potential and serve their community. Starting with standards and forcing potential through the expectation does not end well. Measuring potential, leveraging access and adapting knowledge allows for self determination and greater motivation to reach full potential.
Lada 🏡 Prkic
منذ 4 سنوات #36
Ali Anani
منذ 4 سنوات #35
Great differentiation.
Ali Anani
منذ 4 سنوات #34
Great insights here. There is no "perfect knowledge" because , as you said, it is a force. It will have undesired side-effects on some parties. This force can cause harm more than initially intended. Like dynamites, which were designed to break rocks, turned into a destructive force for humans. That is why we need a good purpose to use knowledge. I loved your normal distribution of knowledge. If we put the good effects to the right of the curve and stretch so increase the benefits of knowledge as a "power with a human face "then we end up with a long-tail distribution, as depicted in the buzz. Your comment fits well with the panarchy of knowledge as well and as is shown in the last image. Knowledge grows and so fast that we need to conserve it to grasp it. Steadily, we become more of "niche-pursuing" humans, and we become increasingly more needy of the help of other :knowledge niches". If interconnections become condensed we may become fragile. Like rubber tires, little cross-linking and they are great. Too much of it the tires become fragile. This is on the side of the bad effects of knowledge. My journey of thinking is always stretched by the high quality of your comments.
Zacharias 🐝 Voulgaris
منذ 4 سنوات #33
Indeed. Perhaps we need to differentiate between actual ignorance (an inevitable state of naivete) and perceived ignorance (the state of humility that accompanies self-awareness regarding our level of knowledge in proportion of what's out there). Cheers
Harvey Lloyd
منذ 4 سنوات #32
If we look at information from a empirical perspective it appears benign. It is only when we apply the information across core competences and shown on a bell curve that we see the true nature of information. In other words who is useing the information for what purpose? Innovation and disruptive technologies hit along the curve differently. Lifting some and lowering others. Given the strength of core competencies those lowered can retrain and lift themselves. But this is not true in all cases. Knowledge is a force that is difficult to contain. But there is a second aspect to knowledge that drives regulatory compliance adding more complexity to the competency curve. Adding to some and disrupting others. All for what appears to be a good cause. But the effects at the lower end of the curve are nonetheless damaging. In history we see that most innovation was spawned to serve the community. Today it appears that most innovation is locked inside competitive models that serve corporations/individuals. It would appear that greater emphasis is placed on the upstream in opposition to what is going on downstream. Downstream is left to assumption. Everyone has the core competences to adapt to the disruption. Unfortunately some of society is being left behind and it appears to be generational in nature.
Ali Anani
منذ 4 سنوات #31
You point out Harvey Lloyd to an important issue "The basic idea is that we place funnels over intrinsic and/or extrinsic values. Bringing into question what is being served? Commerce, humanity or self (combination)". This adds to the exchange of comments below between #33 and #34 . If we believe in the feedback effect then serving the humanity will feedback and serve us. This is a reinforcing loop and is an upward spiral. The opposite is true as harming the humanity shall harm us and the downward spiral begins. If we are to serve both self and humanity then there we need to find the sweet zone of their overlapping. You made me think- is it better to serve both serve and humanity or humanity first as it shall benefit us later on? Time is a determining factor here because feedback might not be felt strongly, but over time it shall expand exponentially.
Harvey Lloyd
منذ 4 سنوات #30
Ali Anani
منذ 4 سنوات #29
Dear amigo Oswaldo Enrique Diaz Delgado- you wrote "All shared teaching is made every day bigger, adds, values and applies, makes roads and new destinations, makes us believe to grow, is a friend without knowing and guardian to understand human will". Will this happen unless we trust each other and believe that what we do isn't only geared to self-interest and not community interest?
Ali Anani
منذ 4 سنوات #28
Dear David Navarro L\u00f3pez- Your comment is wise. I have written a buzz on purpose and that it must be greater than the individual for a good community to emerge. I gave examples of ants who make a raft to save their lives in stormy seas. I have also written a presentation on an Indian film titled "Lagaan", which is a tax on agricultural crops. to show the same in human societies. https://www.slideshare.net/hudali15/the-lagaan-of-performance For a good culture to emerge that is greater than the sum of the individuals people must act with sense of purpose for the community. If not, chaos shall prevail.
Ali Anani
منذ 4 سنوات #27
Dear Oswaldo Enrique Diaz Delgado haave commented on it. So, there is some overlap in our thinking. https://www.bebee.com/producer/@ali-anani/blind-insights
Ali Anani
منذ 4 سنوات #26
Much obliged to you my friend Debasish Majumder
Ali Anani
منذ 4 سنوات #25
My good friend David Navarro L\u00f3pez- I love comments that have nuggets of wisdom and yours is by all measures. We are living in a world of increased complexity and we ought to learn from natural systems who have been in this state for ages. So, the profoundness of your comment represented by "we have no other option than building bees or ants-like societies, on which the individual is as much as important as the community they belong" reflects my own thinking in a very simple; yet effective way. The whole is greater then the parts in complex systems and this ties up nicely with your idea ""With the blindfold of our own fears as individuals, that is, the aim of own survival, we are missing...". We are on the same wavelength my friend. The reference to your recent buzz is timely. That we reached the same conclusion shows that we can reach the similar conclusion even if we use different approaches
Debasish Majumder
منذ 4 سنوات #24
thank you sir Ali \ud83d\udc1d Anani, Brand Ambassador @beBee for pondering on my comment. i believe that human brain also possess three major component, fore brain, mid brain and hind brain, equal to that of quark, that basis of all knowledge as well to understand ignorance. indeed your is of great paramount with panache which deserve accolades from all aspects.
David Navarro López
منذ 4 سنوات #23
Siento corregirte, Oswaldo, pero mi nombre es David. En cuanto a tu comentario, se me hace dificil seguir hacia donde vas a parar. De un lado, el concepto de "humano", lo que es y lo que debería ser, son a día de hoy, no sólo diferentes, sino cuestionables. Como cuestionable es la afirmación "Otra característica humana es pretender saber más en nombre de la humanidad" Los grandes avances de la humanidad siempre han tenido otros motivos que no "el bien común" sino más bien, la gloria personal del que lo inventó. Internet era en su inicio un sistema de control de silos nucleares. Los médicos y científicos que buscan el bien de la humanidad van a campos de refugiados a ejercer, como voluntarios. Los que se encierran en un laboratorio a descubrir cosas son, en su mayoría, personas asociales a los que les interesa más la ciencia en sí que las personas que salvan, y por encima de todo, su propia gloria. Con escasas excepciones, claro está. De otro modo, no se entiende que con tanto genio a través de décadas no se hayan erradicado enfermedades que siguen siendo un azote de la humanidad. Si el objetivo de la comunidad científica fuese el bien de la humanidad, ya se habrían juntado para resolverlo. Pero no, uno resuelve una parte del acertijo, y ya está suspirando por conseguir un Nobel, y compiten deslealmente entre ellos para destacar.
David Navarro López
منذ 4 سنوات #22
Ali Anani
منذ 4 سنوات #21
Yes, and keep your courage dear Tausif Mundrawala. Some people are happy to throw stones in the stream of your thinking. They think they will stop you. Yut you prove you are a good swimmer as you know how to turn the eddies to your advantage.
Ali Anani
منذ 4 سنوات #20
You are very generous in your kind feelings dear Oswaldo Enrique Diaz Delgado. Maybe you consider sharing this buzz in a Spanish hive so that Spaniards may read your great comments.
Ali Anani
منذ 4 سنوات #19
Dear Tausif Mundrawala- over history when a person disrupted the prevailing concepts, beliefs and understandings they were first rejected. Don't lose heart and say what you believe in. One day people will say that your were more imaginative than they were. I fully endorse your statement. It is seeing both the tree and the forest. It is both using the creative and logical brains. It is like seeing from close range with one eye (specialist) and seeing the big picture with the other eye (the generalist). I also thank you and dear Debasish Majumder for sharing the buzz.
Ali Anani
منذ 4 سنوات #18
Thank you dear Roberto De la Cruz Utria and I am very happy exchanging comments with you
Ali Anani
منذ 4 سنوات #17
I agree my friend. Indeed, "It is unequivocal to expose the before, now and always; from the human value that becomes scientific within a human team at the service of humanity".
Ali Anani
منذ 4 سنوات #16
Well-said is what you wrote Oswaldo Enrique Diaz Delgado. A personal and exemplary habit: It is that act that values and values, does the same from our human essences and deeply positive, they are worthy to feel all the passion that "SCIENCE" brings! about everything that allows us to give / contribute from the vital.
Ali Anani
منذ 4 سنوات #15
Dear Roberto De la Cruz Utria You comment is timely and fits very well well with the now expanded buzz. You wrote that Knowledge is infinite. I couldn't agree. It is like a coast that we don't know its length because the finer we measure its length, the longer it seems. Like coasts are fractal, so is knowledge. This ties very well with the fractal structure of the panarchy of knowledge that I added to the buzz. Your comment is very sound.
Ali Anani
منذ 4 سنوات #14
Thank you John Rylance
Ali Anani
منذ 4 سنوات #13
Dear Debasish Majumder would read this buzz and enrich us with his thoughts. You see you allowed me to expand on the buzz in an attempt to answer your question. Thank you for the challenge and for sharing the buzz.
John Rylance
منذ 4 سنوات #12
Debasish Majumder
منذ 4 سنوات #11
Ali Anani
منذ 4 سنوات #10
You remind me my friend Roberto De la Cruz Utria of general and specializes MDs. Here in my country people will go for a specialist. I had a long health problem because of high blood pressure. I spent so much time and money seeking the help of specialists. All ended in vain. One day I decided to visit a well-reputed general practitioner. He checked me for few minutes and then asked for an MRI. His diagnosis was that I need to drink huge amounts of water for ten days before visiting him again. My blood pressure was 115/73. It has been stable since then. Before, I did huge amount of analysis such as MRI, ultrasonic, chemical analysis and many more. The problem was that the technician understood the MRI, but I doubt if the specialists did. Some doctors use technology and they aren't familiar with its meaning. Yes, we do need some people with broad knowledge. We have to realize that the more technology pours in, the less time we have to master them. This is the need for proper connections. But again, the side effect maybe increased fragility.
Ali Anani
منذ 4 سنوات #9
You never disappoint me Cyndi wilkins with your probing mind. I am so happy that you found the link between this buzz and my previous one. Your sharpness is as good as the quote in your comment. I am doing a spinning dance.
Cyndi wilkins
منذ 4 سنوات #8
Ali Anani
منذ 4 سنوات #7
Ali Anani
منذ 4 سنوات #6
Ali Anani
منذ 4 سنوات #5
Ali Anani
منذ 4 سنوات #4
Thank you Zacharias \ud83d\udc1d Voulgaris for the inspiration and for your thoughtful comment and the beautiful example you offered at the end of your comment. Ignorance is lack of knowledge and I agree. But when we discover more, we find more about our lack of knowledge. Isn't this right. So, you wrote later "specialized knowledge is that it is often accompanied by the confidence of the expect". Isn't this again lack of knowledge? I must say sometimes ignorance is better than "fragile knowledge" that is built on excessive pride. Do these experts know this basic fact? I doubt if they are inflated with false pride. Thank you again for starting the discussions with your solid comment.
Zacharias 🐝 Voulgaris
منذ 4 سنوات #3
Ali Anani
منذ 4 سنوات #2
Ali Anani
منذ 4 سنوات #1