In a recent lecture given at the University of Texas at Dallas (found here) David Parry talked about the way the world of information is going to change. The essence of his discussion was that we are currently following a book pattern of knowledge transmission. The printed book was an outstanding innovation in its time; suddenly, information was no longer relegated to the elite and was no longer solely under the vanguard of scribes and monks. When the printing press revolutionized the world it was resisted by the religious authorities that were afraid of the change it would bring to the very framework of how knowledge is transferred and stored. Eventually it would seem that books were inseparable from learning and that learning itself was available to more than ever before. David predicts that we are going through a similar change now. Instead of the division being between the literate and the illiterate, it will be between those who can use the internet and those who cannot. The framework of the book is that knowledge is scarce; it is bound up, protected by covers, money is charged for it and libraries will pursue anyone who makes off with a book. This is the “book” framework, and is going to disappear. No longer is knowledge scarce. Universities and schools themselves are arranged around this view of knowledge. Many universities proudly expose their gates, which are symbolic of the gates of knowledge that separate the university from the rest of the world. No longer is this to be the way; Parry states taht education is free although a degree may cost you. It is also open; the moment knowledge isn’t shared, it is no longer part of the world of education. Arising is a time when students will educate eachother; when they will choose professors and courses at their own rates. Everyone will learn at their own pace and take the tests when they feel they are ready, learning from whatever sources are chosen by them. In order to compete, the university will have to destroy its gates. Knowledge will no longer be trafficked via licenses, expensive books, or elite professors. Universities will have to unbundle the classes so that students can choose individual courses; they can pick and choose between gravity and momentum, or whatever other order and degree of classes they want. “Let the material dictate the time line.” He states, “be online or be irrelevant.”
Given this perspective on the up and coming ideas about knowledge itself, I have one question: what about completeness of knowledge? What sort of tests can be devised to ensure that your doctor doesn’t get to the table and say, “Oops. I forgot to study appendectomies.” Or that the pilot doesn’t say, “Uh oh… landing in a cross wind…?”