Pushing the boundaries of the knowledge sciences

One application of the knowledge calculus involves formulating expressions to represent joining knowledge artifacts generated from two or more different perspectives. Similarly, we need expressions to represent the joining of perspectives. This has the potential for advancing the progression toward machine-readable ontologies and other tools for formally representing and transferring knowledge, especially across domains.

Diving deep

Like many innovations, a method for synchronizing the two hemispheres of the brain was discovered by accident back in the 1950s. The late Robert A. Monroe, an early producer of educational audio programs, found that specific sound patterns (such as frequency and/or phase differentials) produce increased brain wave coherence resulting in a variety of responses ranging from deep sleep to increased alertness.

Researcher/author Alex Bennet passed out headphones and treated participants to different types of vibrations provided by the Monroe Institute. Reported experiences included deep rest, expanded awareness, a greater sense of connectedness and the vivid recall of distant memories.

David Bennet followed up with his personal experiences in the mind-body connection and the critical importance of proper diet, nutrition and activity in maintaining a productive and fulfilled life well into one's ninth decade of life and beyond. That is especially important as new breakthroughs in medical science and genetic engineering continue apace.

The message was clear: As technology evolves, human physiology must evolve with it. We really have no choice. The upshot is longer life, increased vitality and improved ability to interact with the infinite reservoir of potential hidden deep within our own consciousness.

What it all means

Given the prospects of continued economic uncertainty and slow growth, we need to increase the speed at which we migrate breakthroughs in knowledge science into everyday business practice. Shifting frames of reference, engaging deeply tacit knowledge and employing new symbologies are just a few of the new skills knowledge entrepreneurs, managers and practitioners will need to develop and refine.

But the underlying science isn't the only element in play. Business model innovation plays an equally important role, as traditional business models continue to become more irrelevant and ineffective in the global knowledge economy. Tying those various aspects together will be the focus of our enterprise of the future research in the coming year.