Difference between revisions of "Forbidden Knowledge"

Revision as of 15:17, 26 February 2014

Cheerful Illustration by Gustave Dore.

Description

This is the industrial strength version of Compartmentalization of Knowledge. This occurs when knowing something is actually denied to a certain group of people under the threat of penalty. One recent example is when the Centers for Disease Control in the US was forbidden by the US Congress to study gun violence as a "public health hazard.' According to Wikipedia, "In 2010, there were 19,392 firearm-related suicide deaths, and 11,078 firearm-related homicide deaths in the United States." In early 2013, the US Congress passed a new law that the National Science Foundation could not fund Political Science research. It’s worth it to mention that the Forbidden Knowledge pattern is almost always used a response to potentially damaging information against a product, organization, or group of beliefs.

How it Works

Taking a type of knowledge “off the table,” can have a variety of benefits. If you have a product that some people criticize or otherwise speak out against it may be beneficial to utilize this pattern to at least minimize some of the backlash against your product that you might receive otherwise. In the case of gun violence being denied status as a public health hazard, there are likely lobbyists for the NRA involved in petitioning government officials to forbid the CDC from calling guns a public health hazard. Having lots of money and/or power helps.

See also: Photography banned from agricultural settings

Evidence

Links

Compartmentalization of Knowledge, Opacity, Professional Obfuscation

References

http://chronicle.com/blogs/brainstorm/forbidden-knowledge/48635