DIMINISHING INTELLECT, DISTORTED KNOWLEDGE – Part 1

It has been argued in ‘The Act of Writing' (Previous Post) that invention of writing with   alphabets ( denoting sound  syllables), marked a sharp decline in human intellectual capacity. Intellectual capacity is denoted by (a) storing vast amounts of data, facts and information, processing the same and recalling it when required,  (b)knowledge and wisdom  derived from such fast processing  (which in turn determines our actions), & (c) knowledge of arts, crafts, and the ability to appreciate and enjoy the same, etc

When knowledge is recorded it becomes ossified. The dynamism of knowledge is lost. The free flow of knowledge is impaired.

Let us now consider a hypothetical situation. Say at the time when humans fully matured physically and culturally (conforming to Darwin’s theory), humankind had a body of knowledge comprising of different  branches, say  U, V, W, X, Y, X , ie Total knowledge K=U+V+W+X+Y+Z. For a long time this knowledge was transmitted orally , through sounds. Anyone who is considered learned will have to learn all this (complete knowledge) orally and commit to memory, since  re-course to writing was not at hand. Thus the whole body of knowledge , without loss would have been transmitted from generation to generation , and across geographical locations without loss or minimal losses.  Any  further knowledge that is generated will be a derivative  of the above body of total knowledge. Now suppose that after a few thousand years,  writing system developed and the above  complete knowledge had been committed to writing. Now it is human tendency that something that is stored, will remain in disuse for a long time. The attitude is-‘ it is available  on tap, so we will retrieve it when necessary’. Such a scenario, ie absolute  necessity or requirement  of stored knowledge,(knowledge of a particular nature, but essentially a part of the total knowledge , integrating the same seamlessly, that had been tucked away in a medium) is not likely to arise for a long time into the future, and it is likely that what is stored will be eventually forgotten. Even when  a need arises, be it for the stored knowledge or some material, the effort will be to freshly generate the same,  overlooking what is stored years back. The people who had done the storage will not be immediately available, or  unable to recollect from  their individual memory(the physical storage location) due to aging .   If they had lived a generation before,  they may be dead. Thus there is a continuous chipping away from the collective body of useful and full (complete)  knowledge. When one is faced with incomplete knowledge of a situation or object, decisions regarding the same will have to be based on assumptions or guesswork. This leads to error in judgement and results. Ie New knowledge thus generated is faulty.

The  issues discussed in the above paragraph about  incomplete or partial knowledge  generating faulty knowledge , is further illustrated with another example.  Assuming  that the total body of knowledge K=U+V+W+X+Y+Z, and these knowledge branches are related (complementary).  Consider a  experiment involving  two identical individuals A and B. Consider further that on all parameters A and B are sharing equal values, except on the knowledge front.  Imagine that A’s knowledge is total  ie. Ak=K= U+V+W+X+Y+Z, and B’s knowledge Bk= W+X+Y+Z < K.  Individual B is not knowing about subjects U & V, but which has got some connection or other to subjects W, X, Y & Z. Now  A & B are confronted with a problem requiring solution based on their knowledge, and each has to give it independently.  Whose solution is likely to be better and totally reliable. ?? Without doubt we could say that we could depend on A fully.  And any further decisions  or knowledge based on A’s conclusion can also be depended  upon.

But if B’s solution is accepted, it may solve the problem temporarily, but not perfectly. Further any further development or knowledge based on B’s solution will contain error, and this error will multiply , if this solution is used as the input for further solutions.

(Critical feed-back appreciated)

Part 2 follows ....