Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
is very useful in dealing with the process of innovation. Although many innovative
processes depend upon the application of codified knowledge, the creation of origi-
nal inventions and innovations frequently need tacit knowledge to acquire the new
understanding to create some new product, process, or ways of doing things. This
exchange of tacit knowledge usually depends upon physical proximity, and is also
heavily influenced by the particular contexts and institutional structures involved,
especially in the urban places that have the environments to facilitate this knowl-
edge transfer.
Another important issue in the character of knowledge comes from the distinc-
tion between knowledge as 'being and doing' (Drucker
1993a
). The acquisition of
knowledge throughout most of history, in both Asian and Western societies, was
related to '
knowledge as being
', essentially the personal understandings of oneself,
our relationships with the world, and learning the ability, through logic and rhetoric,
to know what to say, or to write effectively. Certainly there was a related concept of
'
knowledge as doing
' in these early civilizations, essentially applying knowledge to
create some material object or service. Such work was usually distained by leaders
or educated men and was carried out by lower classes, even slaves. In any case, the
application of knowledge as 'doing' to a whole range of activities, such as sailing,
grinding corn or metal working, was limited until the Industrial Revolution because
it was often craft-based and practiced by individuals or small groups of people,
subordinate to the leaders in status-based societies. Moreover, each craft was often
regarded as a skill-set on its own, with few attempts to relate the information in-
volved in creating the goods or services in other areas of economic activity. A major
change occurred in early medieval Europe when tradesmen and merchants in many
towns obtained freedoms from the surrounding feudal society that was rural-based,
enabling them to practice their skills on their own behalf, even though they were
subject to some constraints. Along with the growth of a market economy it led to a
rapid growth in trade, production and wealth in the towns and cities in which they
were located. Yet there were limits on growth, not simply from constraints from
technologies or transport limits, but because guild and trade organizations still con-
trolled these occupations. Entry to these organizations was usually only available to
those who had passed a long apprenticeship to acquire the skills through personal
contact with craft specialists, skills that were often jealously guarded and usually
passed down to their family members.
A major change in access to knowledge among the limited number of literate
people occurred with the development of printing in the late 1400s, and later in
the Enlightenment, when individuals such as Diderot and d'Alembert developed
the Encyclopaedia project between 1751 and 1772. Their objective stimulated the
process of summarizing all knowledge, including descriptions of the former craft
'mysteries'. This made the craft skills potentially available to others who were liter-
ate, although some skills still had to be acquired by practice and instruction. It also
led to the recognition that many of the principles in one craft field could be applied
to others to develop new processes and products. A new word, 'technology', signi-
fied the changes. These and other intellectual changes led to a greater understanding
of the world, accompanied by a series of related advances: the development of new
mechanical and chemical processes in factory settings; the application of fossil-fuel
