2. Let's get to know each other.

<NB> This page and next few pages include revisions of my previous blog Knowing, Thinking,... at http://www.vcharkarn.com/vblog/39997 .

Often we say "I know" to signal the 'matching' of certain (external) patterns or ideas or informational facts with certain (internal) models that we have in our accessible knowledge repository. In other words, we say "I know" when we can 'distinguish' (or 'discern') an input pattern, and we recognize that it matches with a model (or view) in our 'memory'.

If we look at a simple 'knowing' process as a simple system:

Knowing model:
    [input=challenge]-->[process=search+match(pattern, memory)]-->[response=yes|no]

or    q in Q-->[S(q, M)]-->a in A[yes, no]     for those symbol-minded
    
We have a 'challenge' or question, stimulus or input q in Q
We do a certain (mental) 'process' (like 'search and match' the challenge with items in accessible knowledge repository - like a 'google process').
Then, we show a 'response' as 'yes' or 'no' answer or output for that challenge.

We can see that for a challenge, our search and match (in our memory and the Net) may result in
    - no match (then we say "I don't know that")
    - one perfect match (then we say "I know" or "aha")
    - many matches (then we say "ummmh, we need more details - to discriminate and choose the best match!")
    - a processor failure like overloaded, out of time, busy,... (then we say "Sorry, we have a hic-up".)

So, knowing involves knowledge repository (e.g. memory, digital devices, archives/libraries, museums,...), indexing, and searching (and matching) mechanisms. The level of knowing is very much the capacity for memory representations or indexes of items of knowledge. Act to know is to search and match certain items in available memory.

This knowing is very much a simple 'binary' decision making or a '2-way switch' with '(indexed) memory'. To acquire/communicate knowledge, we only need to access memory - both internal memory (brain) and external memory (hardware devices, artefacts,...). Currently external memory devices are showing advantages in diversity and volume but not speed over our brain. When we consider that our individual knowledge is in our brain and our public knowledge is in our community and accessible hardware e.g. the Internet, the combined accessible knowledge can be enormous. How can we make use of the combined knowledge? That's what we are talking about, trying to gain some useful 'answers'.

This 'knowing' does not guarantee 'correct knowing'. Our challenge may be unclear, misunderstood, incomplete, out of context or out of our experiences, and so on. Our search and match process may be less than ideal or perfect for such challenge (we have many searchers on the Net - they don't bring back the same results). The way we process the query, what memory or 'knowledge storage' we have access to, the time and cost we can afford to obtain our matches, and so on may vary from one place/time to another place/time. Our choice of matches may be 'biased' (towards our self-interest), how much time we have to respond, ... The model above gives only a sketch that we will have to add details.


<NB 1> What is 'knowledge': facts? information? something 'humanly' known or 'know-able'? Can we 'describe' knowledge? In writing, drawing, moulding, ... a knowledge representation of a kind on a media (or artifact)? We can look up dictionaries. We can give a definition now and find that we may have to modify the definition later. Is it best that we talk more and when we feel that we need a definition then we try to 'settle' on one - but we may change it later?

In a way, we will take an approach to 'create a new thing' where no one has any knowledge of that thing before. No one has a 'recipe' on how to make such thing. We only have 'our ideas' how we could possibly make that thing - but we have not tried or made it. (As in the Star Trek lead-in 'to go where no man has gone before'.)  

In a more formal language, we would say 'we assume no prior knowledge'. Just like a group of tiny ants hunting on a new, unsigned and unmapped terrain. The ants have to find food and mask the way back to the anthill (nest). The ants start off with no (aerial) pictures, no previous clues, no experts, no experiences in memory, ...

A challenge: How do we build a knowledge-society from "zero knowledge within a group"?

<NB 2> You may respond to this challenge at any time - but in Thai or English please. I wish and try to learn in group setting that anyone can join in and work together to respond to the above challenge - in the end to answer how to learn to think creatively.

<NB 3> To know:  1. To have knowledge; to have a clear and certain perception; to possess wisdom, instruction, or information; -- often with of.  2. To be assured; to feel confident. 3. To perceive or apprehend clearly and certainly; to  understand; to have full information of; as, to know one's 4. To be convinced of the truth of; to be fully assured of; as, to know things from information. 5. To be acquainted with; to be no stranger to; to be more or less familiar with the person, character, etc., of; to possess experience of; as, to know an author; to know the rules of an organization. 5. To recognize; to distinguish; to discern the character of; as, to know a person's face or figure.[1913 Webster]

To know: VT. เข้าใจ relate:[ตระหนัก, ดูออก, มองออก] syn:[understand; comprehend; realize] VT. จำได้ VI. รับทราบ relate:[รับรู้] syn:[perceive] VT. รู้ relate:[รู้จัก, รู้ดี, ทราบ, เข้าใจ, ประจักษ์, รู้เรื่อง, ตระหนัก] VT. รู้จัก relate:[คุ้นเคย] syn:[recognize] VT. เรียนรู้ relate:[รู้, มีประสบการณ์] [Lexitron English-Thai (Lexitron ET)] <NB No entry in Lexitron for 'knowing', รู้, เรียนรู้>

<NB 4> We have trade secrets, patents and other protection mechanisms in societies where individual knowledge is used to profit from people of (average? little?) public knowledge. Greed and self-interest often combine to suppress public knowledge (and opinion) to continue profiteering and master-slave status. Though, nations around the world try to provide free access to continually improved public knowledge as an important base for human rights, higher individual knowledge is respected and rewarded and even used in contrary to 'the right to public knowledge'.

<NB 5> 'cramming', 'bugging', 'swotvac' and 'stuvac' are some slang words used to describe a period of intent revision usually in a study-free week before the examination. In Thailand, cramming has been commercialized as 'extra-learning' (เรียนพิเศษ) at considerbly high cost to families and a side-effect: the 'quality' of national/public knowledge might have been reduced in schools in favour of this pay- learning. (We could see similar effects on Free-to-Air television after introduction of Pay-TV.)