KMbeing

Knowledge Mobilization (KMb): Multiple Contributions & Multi-Production Of New Knowledge

Tag Archives: knowledge creation

Sharing Knowledge With The People You Don’t Know

Leave a Comment Posted by on December 17, 2012

people you don't know

Making the world a better place and creating new knowledge doesn’t come from sharing knowledge with the people you know.  It comes from sharing knowledge with the people you don’t know.

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The Ever-Changing Knowledge Of Our Collective Humanity

Leave a Comment Posted by on October 31, 2012

Why do we believe in the idea that knowledge is something that we attain and once we attain it – it never changes? It’s this view that limits our collective human understanding when we believe that knowledge is somehow “set in stone”.  It’s more like footprints on a beach.

Yes, as human beings, we can be creatures of habit, we can be territorial and we can be very guarded about our belief systems – even to the point of war. We fear change and things that are different from our own personal viewpoints. As human beings we want “security” and “stability” in our comfort zones, but ironically are willing to fight each other about our knowledge differences to “win” even more territory on the shifting sands of “security” and “stability”. But we never win fighting for this type of “knowledge”.  The waves of change always occur.

We think our own knowledge and the collective knowledge of our own groups, cultures, nations, lifestyles, and religions are the only knowledge to be attained – and once we have this “true” knowledge – it never needs to change. Everyone else can have their own “false” knowledge – but our knowledge is actually the “true” knowledge. But this way of thinking is really only caused by a desire for things to stay the same and seek “security” and “stability” in our own desires to expand our own comfort zones – like footprints in the sand.

This is a false sense of understanding knowledge and a false sense of understanding the evolution of our humanity on this planet. With this type of stagnant thinking we will always be held back from our collective human potential. Everyday, the world is filled with change, and there will always be differences from our own personal viewpoints. This has always been a part of our human history.

Human advancement and understanding have always occurred in our human history when we’ve decided to step beyond our own comfort zones of “security” and “stability” – especially in our understandings of knowledge. When we are open to the knowledge of others and share our own knowledge with human cooperation and not fear, only then will it lead us to greater worldwide security and stability. We will then have attained the knowledge of human understanding. But this knowledge does not stop there.

The process of knowledge is an on-going flow, not containment. Knowledge Mobilization (KMb) is the overall flow and ongoing and constant input and development and creation of new knowledge. It is the open process of putting available knowledge into active service to benefit not just one particular group, culture, nation, corporation, organization or religion – but for the greater benefit of all in society.

No experience is ever exactly the same as any other – just as no person is exactly the same as any other. As each moment is different – so is each knowledge moment.  Trying to “attain” knowledge as something unchangeable will lead you on a limiting search. But if you pursue knowledge with an open-mind and expectation of the ongoing process and flow of knowledge you might very well find greater happiness in your life – and a deeper understanding of our ever-changing humanity.

Do we need to be considered “super intelligent” to have knowledge? Do we have to have an academic degree to have knowledge? Do we have to be wealthy to have knowledge? No, we just have it.  Each second, each minute of our lives creates individual knowledge – from personal experiences – waiting to be shared with others – and received from others.  Wherever we are, any time, we have the capacity to share our individual knowledge, our life experiences; even the parts we think aren’t “worthy”.  We all have opportunities to teach and learn from others – which contribute to making this world a better place.

If we spend all of our energy trying to “attain” unchangeable knowledge we miss out on the daily flow and process of knowledge. It’s like trying to hold back the waves from washing away the footprints on a beach.  When we are open to learning and sharing knowledge with others we have the opportunity to let the diversity of knowledge come into our lives and transform our own knowledge and the ever-changing knowledge of our collective humanity.

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Everyone Has A Knowledge Voice

Leave a Comment Posted by on October 6, 2012

A lack of knowledge will never disappear so long as a lack of sharing knowledge to make the world a better place continues. New knowledge for social benefit is created just as soon as we share knowledge and are open to the knowledge of others for the benefit of everyone.

What new knowledge have you given birth to in your life? What good has sharing knowledge or being open to the knowledge of others brought you in your life? How much social benefit has come from a lack of sharing knowledge or not being open to the knowledge of others in life? Social benefit occurs whenever we share knowledge for good rather than harm with anyone – no matter what walk of life.

I’ve known many people who think they don’t have the “right type” of knowledge or aren’t “smart enough” to contribute to making the world a better place. I’ve even thought it about myself at one point earlier in my life because of the way in which I was raised as a child. My parents frequently called me “stupid” and that little voice sounded in my head for years into early adulthood until I was finally able to find my own voice and believe in my own knowledge value.

Never has this type of thinking about a “lack of knowledge” made anyone feel better about oneself, about life, or about any situation. We all have knowledge to share if we only recognize the value of our own knowledge – no matter how “limited” we think it is. The most important thing is sharing this knowledge for social benefit. As long as we hold on to the attitude that our own knowledge is worthless and cannot possibly make the world a better place, new knowledge to make the world a better place for everyone will never be created. Knowledge when shared creates new knowledge – which can lead to social benefit.

We can all learn something from each and every person on this earth – we just need to be open-minded. The problem is that we continue to dismiss the knowledge of some people without really trying to listen to what this knowledge might teach us about our own knowledge or the knowledge of others – and we miss the opportunities to combine this knowledge to create new knowledge for something better than the “lack of knowledge” each of us may have. A “lack of knowledge” will continue to grow and fester, and will continue to become a destructive force on this earth unless we share knowledge to increase and create new knowledge to make the world a better place.

How can we increase knowledge sharing? Empathy and compassion for others helps – trying to value the knowledge of others and what they have to share with us, no matter how limited, can help us create new knowledge and see the value of knowledge sharing in a new way. Give each person’s knowledge a chance – even if they have been called “stupid” and no one has ever taught them to value their own knowledge. It’s possible they don’t even realize that the act of sharing the knowledge they do have can lead to social benefit.

This is what Knowledge Mobilization (KMb) is all about – learning from all sources of knowledge and experiences (no matter how limited or varied) to create positive change and social benefit. KMb gives everyone a voice. From these voices, policy makers or government leaders can be provided with greater knowledge to make decisions for change and social improvements – creating new knowledge to make the world a better place.

Are we going to continue to think that certain individuals have a “lack of knowledge” that leads to harboring thoughts of self-stupidity or are we going to lessen this “lack of knowledge” by giving everyone a knowledge voice by sharing knowledge? Which path would be most beneficial to make the world a better place for everyone?

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Knowledge Is Socially Constructed

Leave a Comment Posted by on August 31, 2012

Knowledge is socially constructed and its creation and use can take multiple forms when we share knowledge to create new knowledge that can lead to changes in policy and behaviour to make the world a better place.  Social change and benefit can sometimes occur more quickly – but more often happens slowly over time.  What are you doing to help speed up the process of sharing knowledge for social benefit?

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Knowledge To Create Greater Understanding

Leave a Comment Posted by on August 30, 2012

Have you ever shared knowledge with another person to create new knowledge to make the world a better place? The first step in changing the world for better is sharing knowledge to create greater understanding. We all have different perspectives and knowledge to share.

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Creators Of Knowledge

Leave a Comment Posted by on August 2, 2012

We are not only passive receivers of knowledge or active conveyors of knowledge – but also creators of knowledge that can make the world a better place.

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Everyone’s Knowledge Has A Part To Play

4 Comments Posted by on June 20, 2012

Sharing knowledge to make the world a better place doesn’t mean having to be “super” intelligent, knowing everything, only sharing with certain people – or only sharing to people and not learning from people.  Many of us are beginning to see that sharing knowledge is about making daily, multi-directional connections with all kinds of different people from all walks of life.

It’s easy for us to see that some people are meant to do some things, while others are not.  We all have differing abilities – and we live in a world of diversity. Music comes easy to some people, while others are really good at writing or sports or connecting with people. We all have our talents that hopefully we continue to develop.

There are differing belief systems and cultures. (I recently found a great website and online worksheet for those interested in a closer examination of these differences).  We live on a planet of diversity. Violence comes easy to some people, while others want to make the world a better, safer place for all.  We just have to believe in the ability and value of sharing and combining our diversity of knowledge to create greater understanding and acceptance for all humanity – and everyone’s knowledge has a part to play in this.

However, when it comes to knowledge, some seem to feel a sense of lack or inequality, a sense that they are never quite smart enough to share knowledge that can contribute to making the world a better place – or that their own knowledge has no value.

All knowledge has value if it is used to help and not harm.

We can all contribute to making the world a better place by sharing knowledge and developing deeper understanding and appreciation of the diversity of individuals and knowledge that exists in this world. Knowledge Mobilization (KMb) is all about making those multi-directional knowledge connections with others from a diversity of knowledge sources to combine knowledge to create new knowledge – and put it into active use for social benefit.

Sharing knowledge to make the world a better place means even sharing experiential knowledge from downtrodden lives that have seemed to have been given little chance to be valued as worthwhile. We don’t need to know everything and only learn from certain people.  We can share knowledge quite fully without being “super” intelligent.

When we avoid daily opportunities in our lives to share our own knowledge and create greater understanding in our diversity, we contribute to the knowledge gaps that divide and segregate us on this planet.  That space is what contributes to our fears, misunderstandings and hatred – and it contributes to our global ignorance.  It gives us a place to hide when we feel insecure about the value of our own knowledge – and if we don’t share our diversity of knowledge, we’re missing the chance to play a personal part in making the world a better place.

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Knowledge Beyond Words Or Sounds

Leave a Comment Posted by on June 13, 2012

Every day we gain knowledge about things, people, ideas, insightful experiences – and every day is an opportunity to share that knowledge to make the world a better place. How often do you stop to think about such a daily opportunity?  Every day we can give of ourselves from our own knowledge to contribute to social benefit and greater understanding around the world.

Personally, I’m always happy to share the knowledge of my life if it can help contribute to improving the world we all live in.  Most of the knowledge I share with other people is what I’ve learned about through my own life experiences – good and bad. This type of knowledge is something we can all share.  And it’s not about being able to pass a test or hold a conversation on a certain topic – it’s about taking the time to share my knowledge with the knowledge of others beyond myself to serve the purpose of creating new knowledge for greater benefit for everyone.

I spend much more time these days trying to share knowledge about who I am and my life experiences, and trying to learn from the vast amounts of knowledge from the world around me – the people and things with whom I share this planet.  Since I’ve started trying to find daily opportunities of sharing knowledge about things beyond mere facts and information, life has become much more gratifying, much more interesting, and much more worthwhile.  My sharing knowledge with and from other people has become easier and deeper, because I now come from a place of genuine interest in the well-being of all my fellow human beings through knowledge mobilization (KMb).

This world is full of knowledge to share to make it a better place – but not all knowledge has to be shared in words or sounds – sometimes knowledge comes through observation and empathy for others.  Not all knowledge communication involves language. We live in a world where there are many languages – so many that we cannot understand. But if we can stop and slow ourselves down and pay attention to all that surrounds us right here and right now in each of our little places on this earth, then we can start to learn to understand the messages that we’re all being given about life and life’s meaning by sharing this knowledge beyond ourselves from every place in this world.

Imagine how our lives might be if everyone on this planet took the time to respect and share knowledge with others to make the world a better place. Suppose people everywhere, simultaneously, stopped what they were doing and paid attention for only as long as it took to recognize our shared knowledge as our shared humanity.  Perhaps the sadness, anger, hatred and pain of the world – visible to all while taking a moment to contribute to our common knowledge – would generate greater understanding and create new and deeper knowledge through knowledge mobilization.  What a gift that would be to make the world a better place.

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Individual Flames Of Knowledge

2 Comments Posted by on May 24, 2012

Every person’s knowledge and all moments of sharing knowledge are potential opportunities to make the world a better place.  There is no person’s knowledge and no time when knowledge sharing is more important than if the purpose is for social benefit.  Many people believe that sharing knowledge in professional and academic ways are the only times when knowledge has value. This removes the majority of people from the responsibility for participating in sharing and receiving anyone’s knowledge to make the world a better place to live in. When sharing knowledge contributes to better understanding and improvement of this vast world we live in – no matter with whom or how it is shared – it is valuable.

It’s pretty amazing to think that my knowledge is just as valuable as many of the people who have spent years in academia, becoming “great and intelligent scholars” and being well known for their vast knowledge.  Somehow we start to think that these people have all the knowledge that can save the world, and better opportunities to do so.  But that’s simply not true.  Every person’s knowledge is valuable if it is shared with the intention of contributing to making the world a better place. Yes, there are some people who accumulate vast amounts of knowledge and accomplish knowledge sharing on broader scales than others – but that doesn’t mean that this type of knowledge or knowledge sharing is better than others. To make the world a better place for everyone requires valuing everyone’s knowledge if it is shared with the intention of social benefit.

When we start to see our own knowledge and the potential of knowledge sharing to contribute to social benefit as somehow less than others, it opens the door to our not seeing ourselves as a desirable source of social benefit for others. Everyone, through life experiences, has acquired knowledge – it’s how you use that knowledge and how you share that knowledge that creates value. This includes how we give advice, share our thoughts and opinions, and remain open to the advice, thoughts and opinions of others.  We don’t always have to agree, but sharing this type of knowledge can lead to better understanding for everyone. It’s how we resolve the disagreements through knowledge sharing that leads to new knowledge and understanding.

Often, we tend to adopt the knowledge of those who are “smarter” than us, not trusting ourselves to be a valid source of knowledge.  When we begin to see our own knowledge as valuable if we share it with the intention for social benefit that is inclusive and respectful of all in our common humanity – our knowledge has value. When we begin to see this, we can begin to make the world a better place for everyone.

We tend to think that valuable knowledge only comes from academics or scientists, and that we ourselves don’t have valuable knowledge to share.  By thinking this way, we are excusing ourselves from any responsibility for making the world better. Everyone’s knowledge and the opportunities to share this knowledge are unique opportunities for making the world better.

We live on a small planet in a vast universe.  Through human history we have progressed forward in recognizing our common humanity – but we have also faltered in fighting each other. When we begin to see the value of each person’s knowledge and all moments of sharing knowledge as potential opportunities to make the world a better place, we continue to progress, not falter.  We all have a place on this earth – we all have knowledge to share; but what is most important is how we use this knowledge that creates value.

Accept this reality about your own knowledge – that your knowledge has value if you use it for social benefit. You are a unique human being who has a place on this earth that no one else can fill. Acknowledge that you have knowledge to share as others do with you. This type of knowledge sharing will form the foundation of a happier, peaceful and satisfying humanity for everyone. Then, as you accept and respect your own knowledge, your own knowledge will be like a flame igniting the flame of others.  Like lighting another person’s candle, your own knowledge is not diminished when it shared, but will shine outward and connect with all the knowledge of others to accept and respect all the knowledge of your fellow human beings.

 

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Knowledge & Perspective: A Take On Homophobia

Leave a Comment Posted by on May 14, 2012

Today, I want to write about knowledge and perspective – how we look at our own knowledge and the knowledge of others in the world around us. Putting things in perspective – particularly knowledge – is one of the most important elements that can help all of us live life more fully and make the world a better place for everyone. The value of knowledge on this planet is not necessarily determined by the way we acquire knowledge (by a higher education degree or by life experience), but by how we perceive knowledge. Far too often we value the former over the later.

Knowledge is acquired each day in many ways.  Gaining knowledge happens all day, every day with all of our interactions with other people. It’s inevitable that someone, some time, is going to share knowledge that we disagree with or that perhaps hurts us in some way.  Some knowledge claims are going to occur that make it seem like the world is never going to change for the better.  But the important thing about that, of course, is how we perceive the diversity of knowledge in this world – how we value this diversity of knowledge to ultimately combine this knowledge to make the world a better place. It’s all about understanding knowledge and perspective.

Take for example a recent viral video of Jane Svoboda, a woman from Nebraska, USA who makes some rather strong claims against gays, lesbians and bisexuals.

From my knowledge perspective I consider her claims to be extremely homophobic (as do many others). But from her knowledge perspective she stands by her convictions (while others laugh) to share her knowledge claims. Is she crazy (as many claim) or just in need of further knowledge? (I later found out that this woman does have mental health issues). Again, it’s all about perspective. Can we still learn from this so-called knowledge? Yes. But do we just leave it there? No – because knowledge to make the world a better place requires action. Yet action that is respectful of others and open to dialogue with others. Creating valuable knowledge to make the world a better place is about combining the diversity of knowledge in this world through action. Knowledge without shared action is useless.

Although I strongly disagree with this woman’s homophobic knowledge claims (some people may claim this isn’t even knowledge), I was extremely impressed with the diplomatic and organized manner in which she was allowed to speak in such a procedural context. It’s always the first step in sharing knowledge to make the world a better place – even though it’s knowledge that we disagree with or perhaps hurts us in some way.

But sharing knowledge is not just a one way street. I would hope that this woman would also be deeply open to listening to the knowledge of others. This is the next step in sharing knowledge to make the world a better place. Being open to dialogue and learning from the diversity of knowledge around us changes our knowledge for social benefit for everyone – and ultimately makes the world a better place for everyone. Knowledge has many perspectives. Combining these perspectives and knowledge is what matters.

So perhaps, instead of laughing at or deriding someone else’s knowledge claims (even though we strongly feel compelled to do so), if we saw this as an opportunity to begin to share knowledge – by combining our knowledge – to make the world a better place for all of us, we might begin to make a difference.

If we take the world and its diversity of knowledge without further action by sharing our knowledge, we will only see the hurt and hate in the world around us. If we keep in mind that there is a diversity of knowledge in the world waiting to be combined – improved for everyone through action – and that all knowledge is a matter of degree – of perspective – we can begin to make a difference. 

In that perspective lies a realistic view of the world that can allow us to take this diversity of knowledge with a high degree of equanimity and pragmatism that tells us that yes, some knowledge claims seem so far-fetched and need to be adjusted – but life on this planet is about a diversity of knowledge. It’s how we share this diversity of knowledge with our actions – how we put this knowledge in perspective – that can make the world a better place.

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