I’m hearing a lot about Knowledge Transfer at the moment.  It’s not a new concept, so perhaps it’s just that the people I’m associating with at present are talking about it.  One manifestation of it seems rooted in the business world under the broad umbrella of Knowledge Management. The Wikipedia definition seems to place it in that context: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_transfer

My critique of this, of course, is that Knowledge Transfer suggests a one-way process. The definition in Wikipedia talks about moving one “packet” of information from one part of an entity to another, with the result that the recipient is affected in some way. 

But what about reciprocity?  Surely, the sender of the packet is also affected, or perhaps should be affected. And wouldn’t it be beneficial if the recipient could return the favour and send something back? What about the synergy that results from a synchronous exchange, rather than a one-at-a-time sequence of sending and receiving?

I will certainly investigate Knowledge Transfer more. For example, the Wikipedia list of barriers to Knowledge Transfer applies also to Knowledges Exchange.  Challenges such as “problems with sharing beliefs, assumptions, heuristics and cultural norms” could certainly inhibit an exchange of knowledges, just as it does the transfer of information, and every other form of communication.  Without digging into it more deeply though, my hypothesis is that Knowledges Exchange is a more evolved concept that Knowledge Transfer. I just have to prove that.