Knowledge and the pain of being discounted for your knowledge – Synergistic Accounting Part 4.
Historically, knowledge has been equated with power. Before the printing press, only the wealthy and powerful had access to knowledge outside the domain of the immediate need for survival. Now, almost everything is available via Google and Wikipedia.
Still, there are aspects of knowledge that wield significant power. Think NSA and Edward Snowden. Generally, this type of knowledge as power is based on secrets. When transparency is present, knowledge as power diminishes or disappears.
There are stages of knowledge. We can know something as rote, or we can know something as gnosis. I may read the book on how to ride a bike and memorise it (rote), but without getting on a bike and riding (gnosis), my head is filled with theory without the practice. Knowledge is both.
The value of knowledge is often higher when it lives in the domain of gnosis. Practice, experience, mastery…these are the keys to gnosis.
We have created a world that loves specialisation. The expert’s expert on one narrow field. This is fantastic for the brain surgeon and her patient. Yet in our rush to become specialised, it is rare to find someone whose specialty is in being a generalist. We have lost the art of the polymath.
Knowledge as part of one of the 12 dimensions of Synergistic Accounting honours what is known.
In our frenzy to reduce all value to the metric of money, we have a skewed relationship with valuing knowledge. A person who spends their days teaching 3rd graders, and does so with amazing skill, navigating the complexities of frail young egos, overly protective parents and a curriculum that offers little chance of creativity, is not valued for their knowledge to the same degree as someone able to do high-speed trades in the great casino of the share market.
Inherent in all aspects of Synergistic Accounting is the willingness to be agnostic/neutral (refuse to reduce everything to a dollar value) in our accounting during a Synergistic Accounting audit.
Therefore, when we examine our ecosystem, looking at knowledge, our job at this stage is not to assign value, but to note where and what the knowledge is.
We would look at the knowledge of the teacher of the 3rd grade and note it. Just as we would look at the knowledge of the share trader and note that. The value is only given dimension in context. If the share trader was stuck on a train for 3 days with 500 school kids, his value may not be as high as the teacher’s.
So many times we discount knowledge in one domain as not having transference to another domain. A woman who has spent a decade or so running a household and raising kids may not see that her knowledge has application in the business world. If she would only take a peek behind the doors of many offices, she would find squabbling children dressed as grown-ups in suits. She probably has vast knowledge on managing tantrum throwing, how to organise events, schedules, unruly egos…multitasking…high stress environments. Yet, almost always, her value is discounted by both her and the person who may hire her.
When we consider knowledge as an aspect of Synergistic Accounting, we honour knowledge as it is. In so doing, we invite respect for all people and experiences. This experience is profoundly powerful in its application.
Many people feel the acute pain of having their knowledge be discounted on the trading floor of life. To stop and recognise knowledge in someone is a gift beyond measure.
To read Part 2. What is matter?
Money – but one element of six to consider in Synergistic Accounting – Part 3.
Knowledge and the pain of being discounted for your knowledge – Synergistic Accounting Part 4.
Tools and Artefacts – Synergistic Accounting Part 5.
Why value Warm Data? – inviting our humanity back to the table. Synergistic Accounting Part 6.
Well being – evidence of systems and humanity working – Synergistic Accounting Part 7
Deploying Synergistic Accounting – Part 8
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