Blog 1: Personal Knowledge Management

I have been reading an article (very long article) by William Sheridan called 'How to Think Like a Knowledge Worker.' This article discusses personal knowledge management and also learning methods. I will probably make several entries on this article, primarily because I'm interested in it, but also because I am writing a research paper on it, and some of the stuff in it relates to this class.

The book emphasizes not on what to think, but how to think. What this means is that the book attempts to teach the reader how to deal with issues. To do this, the author encourages the reader to gain an epistemological advantage. What this means is that you can blend the three forms of epistemology: empiricism (observe the facts), rationalism (think things through),  and constructivism (formulating ideas). If these things are combined you can be an effective thinker. 

There is also the concept of ontology - the concepts of materialism, idealism, and behaviourism. If you can combine all 3 of these, then you can have an ontological advantage. If you can bring everything together, you will be a reflective practitioner. 

All of this seems to be similar to what this class encourages (and in general, what the entire TSTM program encourages). I'll be continuing to read from this article and will be posting more feedback on it.