curiosity trumps knowingness

“I put forward formless and unresolved notions, not to establish the truth but to seek it.” —Michel de Montaigne

The perspective of perpetual beta is to make sense of our experiences by formulating models to help our sensemaking while at the same time being ready to discard these beta models as new information is discovered. It may not be the most comfortable way to understand our world but it may be the most adaptive. This perspective informs the personal knowledge mastery (PKM) framework, which has evolved since 2004.

PKM in perpetual beta describes the most recent changes to the PKM online workshop. Many of the activities in this workshop are aimed at trying new methods or tools. There is even a section on fake news.

Jonathan Malesic says that our challenge today is not the proliferation of misinformation but rather an attitude of ‘knowingness’ — already knowing and not looking for disconfirming data.

“But, in fact, the information age reveals how little we each already know. Knowingness, then, might be a way to manage the flood of information. There is so much we might know, that we perhaps ought to know, that it’s often easiest just to act as if we do. And if everyone else is acting, too, then we’re never caught in our ignorance. Of course, then, we’re stuck living with these falsehoods and their consequences – from plague to political upheaval, the very matter of tragedy.” —Psyche 2023-03-27

PKM is one way to avoid knowingness. Seeking diversity of opinions and perspectives is core to PKM. The concept of half-baked ideas is that even if not fully formed, we can get our ideas in the open so they can be discussed. This is where trusted community spaces become ever more important. Our perpetual beta coffee club is one such space.

The opposite of knowingness is curiosity.