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Global knowledge dynamics and social technology
Petzold T., Palgrave Macmillan, New York, NY, 2017. 152 pp. Type: Book (978-3-319412-33-7)
Date Reviewed: Feb 2 2018

Albert-László Barabási, distinguished network scientist, has written a commendation in the back cover of this book. This is a 152-page hardcover book printed on high-quality paper with a few four-color figures. It is a delightful and informative book for a person who generally reads highly technical engineering books. The author is an interdisciplinary scientist at HMKW Berlin (WZB Berlin), a prestigious media and network management research center.

The book presents a fresh sociotechnical perspective on knowledge generation, evolution, and dissemination. In the book, “social technology” is clearly differentiated from technology in general and an expanded perspective is given.

The book is composed of a six-page introduction followed by four parts. Part 1, “Ties That Bind,” is composed of two chapters. Each chapter throughout the book supports the claims in the chapters with extensive notes and references. Therefore, it is possible to use this book as study material for global knowledge dynamics. Part 1 essentially explores the role of linguistic foundations of knowledge representation and dynamics in a social setting.

Part 2, “Nodes in Motion,” contains two chapters exploring the growth, propagation, and dissemination of knowledge. Chapters 4 and 5, constituting Part 2, are titled “What Knowledge Grows?” and “This Is Propagation,” respectively. Topics of discussion involving knowledge growth and evolution in terms of reproduction and recombination as well as use of technology are intermingled in chapters 4 and 5. For example, tables concerning top ten contributors associated with various aspects related to Wikipedia are surprising and very informative.

Part 3, “Orders of Magnitude,” is about 30 pages long. It is composed of chapters titled “Most Valuable Products” (chapter 6) and “When Diversity Strikes” (chapter 7). The notions of knowledgebits and combinability (combine + ability) and the processes of global knowledge dynamics are made very specific in these chapters, especially the dominating example of a Welsh language channel for broadcasting in chapter 6. Additional specific examples involving social processes associated with the Language Hub Project and the Superpower Nation Experiment make the book’s point clear. For example, chapter 6 ends with “to be more aware of intricate opportunities and difficulties when planetary linkage among people, or worldwide diffusion of knowledge, is pursued and promoted digitally.”

Part 4, the epilogue, contains one chapter, “Complexity and Simplicity,” which eloquently summarizes the goals of the book. At this point, combinability is redefined as a fusing of combination and compatibility of knowledgebits. As a final observation, the author states that in the past, global knowledge was disseminated through trade routes. The author suggests that we should pause and develop an awareness of how knowledge travels now compared with the past. The author concludes, “Doing so will continue to make our lives more beautiful and more complicated at the same time.” I have to agree with this conclusion.

In summary, I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in global knowledge dynamics and the role social technology plays in them.

Reviewer:  M. M. Tanik Review #: CR145829 (1805-0209)
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Multimedia Information Systems (H.5.1 )
 
 
Graphs And Networks (E.1 ... )
 
 
Web-Based Interaction (H.5.3 ... )
 
 
Group And Organization Interfaces (H.5.3 )
 
 
Data Structures (E.1 )
 
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