The Knowledge Illusion #7

Continuing about The Knowledge Illusion:

To run a company or any organization, a team with complementary skills is most likely to satisfy all the demands made by the division of cognitive labor.

As individuals, we know little. There's not too much we can do about that; there's too much to know. Obviously we can learn some facts and theories, and we can develop skills. But we also have to learn how to make use of others' knowledge and skills.

The idea that education is for increasing intellectual independence is not entirely correct. That idea isn't wrong so much as incomplete. It ignores the fact that knowledge depends on others. For example, a car mechanic relies on others for parts, diagnostic tools made by others, maybe co-workers, and manuals. 

Science is about justification, which comes in various forms. But most conclusions in science aren't based on either observation or inference. They are based on authority, on what is written in a textbook or journal or what your expert friend tells you. That's one role of the community of knowledge, to supply facts when direct justifications would take too much time or be too costly or difficult. Everyone's understanding is dependent on what others know.

But we shouldn't take faith in whatever a community believes or whatever a credentialed expert says. We should have enough skepticism and a keen eye for charlatans and those who are confidently wrong.

This is my final post about The Knowledge Illusion.