KNOWLEDGE is the most essential ingredient of man’s existence. Primitive man’s knowledge, which he learned through interactions with his environment, was rudimentary and was mainly for survival to find food, shelter and security.
Such knowledge was transferred through observation and participation.
As man learnt more from the environment and through his own ingenuity, he began to enlarge his knowledge base and expanded its functional applications to include more aspects of his existential needs, which became more complex and varied as his social structure became organised and stratified.
From just his basic needs of food and shelter, it expanded to include clothing, rituals with entertainment and architectural structures that provided not only shelter but also decorative forms depicting beliefs and cultural heritage.
The process of knowledge transfer became more organised from the ad hoc empathising, participatory-observation mode to one that was more sustained yet informal, which were all essential ingredients for survival.
Oral transmission was the vehicle for knowledge transfer — then through verbal instructions and storytelling — imparting norms and values, valour and other traditional elements.
Transferring knowledge and skills was also in the form of apprenticeship in which the students placed themselves at the disposal of the master craftsman in creating functional and aesthetic implements, many of which have withstood the test of time and are preserved until today housed in museums and palatial galleries.
Most of this type of learning was kinaesthetic or tactile learning, that is hands-on and experiential.
Even before the advent of writing there was what is referred to as proto-writing in the form of pictographs, ideographs and mnemonic symbols, which were used to record events as a means of transmitting knowledge.
The transmission of knowledge gained momentum through true writing, that is, code or symbols that represent linguistic utterances, which is believed to have originated in Sumer (in Mesopotamia) between 3400 and 3300 BC. It later emerged in Egypt (3100 BC) and China (1200 BC).
The advent of writing paved the way for more interaction and communication between people and more importantly, the transfer of knowledge and skills.
However, recording and archiving knowledge was slow as the information had to be handwritten.
The oral tradition of storytelling and singers still played a significant part in storing and transferring knowledge and educating the people with traditional legends, lore, mores, norms and values.
The seeds of formal and informal education (teaching and learning) began in ancient Greece as early as the 5th century BC with philosophers and thinkers such as Plato and Isocrates.
The two major parts of the education was intellectual and physical (gymnastic). Plato’s Academy is believed to be the prototype of a university.
The modes and process of physical and intellectual skills transfer are evidenced by the grandiose architectural styles of the Greeks, the Romans and the Egyptians as well as the highly artistic sculptures and pottery produced by their skilful artisans.
In the Islamic world, architectural artistry is seen in mosques and palaces. Muslim philosophers contributed knowledge on existence, the cosmos and theology. Later on, the Islamic world contributed knowledge in science and mathematics.
The next important stage was the development of the printing press, which increased knowledge transmission exponentially. Early printing was in the form of seals around 3500 BC in Persia and Mesopotamia. A bit later came pottery imprints. Around 200 BC, China produced woodblock printing on paper.
But book printing on a commercial basis started in the 15th century in Europe, enabling the dissemination of ideas and information on a much wider scale. Since then books have remained the main mode of knowledge repository and knowledge transfer used in all aspects of education.
The development of computer technology and the Internet revolutionised the recording and transmission of knowledge. The storage of information evolved from printed hard-copy materials to soft-copy digital storage, initially in the form of the floppy disc and now the pen drive.
Huge amounts of information plus books and visuals can be stored on a pen drive and hard disk, saving enormous physical space.
Thus the transmission of knowledge increased enormously. Books, encyclopaedias and journals are only a fingertip away on the computer and handphone.
Unlike before when one had to go to the library to borrow or browse books, now the libraries are in your palms and in your desktops. Physical access to knowledge is no longer restrictive.
Currently, new technology enables us to access myriad sources of knowledge through written text and visual presentations. In fact, we are overloaded with information and choices.
This information overload sometimes causes us to lose focus as we tend to surf superficially and are often distracted.
New digital and visual technology will revolutionise the method of knowledge creation, transmission and storage, which are not limited to a formal set-up between the transmitter and receiver of knowledge.
Such transmission of knowledge will propel us from being a mere global village into a global consciousness of interconnected digital neurons and synapses.
The writer is a lecturer at the Centre for Policy Research and International Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang.