Knowledge is useless unless practiced, and practices keep changing with time. But can knowledge change with time? It is an interesting question, and to help you better understand whether knowledge can be changed or not, we have done this thoughtful research.
Can Knowledge Change?
Knowledge changes over time, just like everything else in the universe. New things are always being discovered due to continuous research and learning processes, so knowledge changes continuously. Knowledge is an evolutionary and dynamic process in nature. It is not constant.
Explaining the concept of knowledge change in just a few lines would be an injustice. Let’s explore the knowledge change and transformation process more comprehensively.
Table of Contents
Can knowledge change: Detailed Explanation
The explanation to the question “Can knowledge change” is complicated and comprehensive. Knowledge is an inevitable process. The reason is that new observations are constantly challenging the existing theories.
It doesn’t matter how well a particular theory explains a set of observations. There is always the probability that a new theory might come into existence that will explain similar observations more appropriately. Therefore, the constant addition of new theories leads to changes in knowledge.
In the present era, knowledge is an essential element—it results from an amalgamation of new experiences, skilled insight, and appropriate information.
Experiences, insights, and information cannot remain constant and nor is knowledge. Every time new information is received, a unique experience occurs, a new understanding is obtained, and a modification in knowledge happens.
Can knowledge change continuously?
The answer is yes. It is evident that knowledge change happens continuously. The environment around us is continuously evolving.
Technological advancements, an unstable business environment, and increased awareness about creating new knowledge contribute to this evolution. Therefore knowledge is a vital element of this environment and has contributed to up gradation of knowledge.
Knowledge change can be more clearly understood through the concept of knowledge creation. Knowledge creation refers to the creation of new knowledge through endless combination, transfer, and conversions of different types of information. It is a process that leads to creating new information every time. Hence, knowledge creation leads to knowledge transformation.
There comes a question in mind how can knowledge change with the advancements in technology? The reason is the continuous development of digital technologies in the present era. The basic argument behind this thought is that the internet has led to a transformation in knowledge.
The internet gives you access to the global world, which has no boundaries. It allows everyone to access and contribute to the existing information. Hence internet is the source of knowledge up gradation and transformation.
What leads to knowledge change?
We have gathered ample evidence supporting the answer to the question, “can knowledge change?”. However, we should also research what factors lead to knowledge change. The rationale that knowledge does transform with time has been accepted widely.
Various factors lead to knowledge change. Some of them are discussed below:
Scientific advancement:
Scientific advancement is the first and foremost factor leading the knowledge change process. Evidence, observations, and experiments support scientific advancements.
New scientific observations can lead to unique accepted views of scientific knowledge. Therefore, adding the latest scientific opinions to the existing literature can lead to knowledge transformation.
Although, it is not just scientific knowledge that leads to transformation in knowledge. In addition to scientific knowledge, various other factors contribute to the transform the existing knowledge. These factors can include social, religious, political, and societal convictions.
Technological advancement:
Another major factor that leads to knowledge transformation is technological advancements. Technological advancements are happening at a breakneck pace. What is new now might become outdated soon and be replaced by something better.
What is leading this technological advancement is knowledge and what this technological advancement is leading to is knowledge change.
We have already explained how the internet impacts modification in knowledge. It has been found that knowledge is both the pre-requisite and by-product of the internet. The evolution of knowledge led to the existence of the internet, which in turn has been contributing to transformation in knowledge as well.
Society:
Considering the societal factors, a reciprocal relationship exists between society and knowledge. Society is recognized through social order. Religious and scientific ideas influence the social order. Therefore, any changes in the social order of a society lead to a alteration in the existing knowledge.
In simple words, we can say that changes in society shape knowledge.
The evolution of new learning processes also demands a up-gradation in knowledge. For example, consider mobile phones. Mobile phones were almost non-existent some 20 years ago, but today we cannot even imagine our lives without them. The new learning processes made discoveries and changed knowledge. Hence the old knowledge has become redundant.
To keep pace with the fast world, there is a need to accommodate and learn new knowledge. Knowledge is changing and expanding at a scale that is very hard to keep pace with. Therefore, to understand the new learning processes, one must stay updated.
Impact of knowledge change
Whether it is an individual, an organization, or a society as a whole, knowledge regeneration is the main factor behind its competitiveness. Staying competitive is mandatory to conform to the advancements and changes in the external environment.
It is believed that without remodelling in knowledge, no individual, organization or society can transform following changes in the external environment. Knowledge is considered to be an essential resource for the community. But how can knowledge change impact society?
Knowledge is believed to be an important factor in economic and social development. A rigid concept and idea of knowledge will never lead to economic and social prosperity. Thus, the knowledge transformation helps us stay updated with the latest social and economic advancements. In this manner, knowledge change can help society progress.
How does knowledge change affect organizations?
It is crucial to understand how knowledge change can affect organizations. Organizations are the key participants in society. They involve individuals and groups and contribute to the economy as well. Let’s have a look at how knowledge transformation can affect organizations.
Change in knowledge is the main factor behind bringing innovations to an organization. Knowledge changes help identify an organization’s best practices to obtain a particular invention.
Innovation can never be implemented with old-school ideas and concepts. Therefore, knowledge transformation is required to bring innovation, and then an innovation itself leads to changes in knowledge across the organization.
Knowledge modification helps an organization in making its performance better. In this case, the most appropriate example is organizational change implementation. When an organization is implementing change, its employees must acquire new skills.
The organization also introduces new business processes and learning opportunities. All these changes are supported by knowledge transformation.
Is change in knowledge beneficial?
Advantages of change in knowledge are:
- Change in knowledge helps to stay updated and informed in light of the current discoveries and innovations.
- It helps organizations, individuals, and societies distinguish themselves and stay competitive in the dynamic environment.
- Change in knowledge eases the processes of bringing innovations and implementing new practices.
- It leads to the evolution of new theories to describe a particular set of observations or practices.
Since knowledge is considered a nation’s asset in addition to labour, capital, and other resources, a transformation in knowledge contributes to the creation of new knowledge. Hence knowledge change adds to the assets of a particular nation.
Conclusion
With the lightning progress in science and technology, one questions the evolution of knowledge. Can knowledge change? What are the reasons for its change?
Knowledge changes over time, just like everything else in the universe. New things are always being discovered due to continuous research and learning processes, so knowledge changes continuously. Knowledge is an evolutionary and dynamic process in nature. It is not constant.
The reasons for its change are scientific discoveries, technological advancement, societal factors, and new processes. Transformation in knowledge not only helps individuals but also helps society grow in social and economic terms.
Knowledge change brings innovation to organizations and helps improve efficiency with new skills. It is beneficial for organizations, the economy, and society.