Development of positive and negative knowledge in a professional community

This presentation analysed the question what the role is of negative knowledge (knowledge about what NOT to do, and about when NOT to do what)in further development of knowledge in a professional community. The case of Lyme disease, borreliose, is taken as an example. It was conjectured that professions differ in the amount of knowledge that is shared. Political or societal pressure may be needed toward more sharing. The present case shows that knowledge sharing (wanting to share; wanting to search for knowledge generated elsewhere) and joint commitments can make a huge difference but it is hard to say whether that applies in the same way to positive and negative knowledge … The issue of awareness of not-knowing and dealing with uncertainty transcends the positive/negative dichotomy, and is probably a stronger driver for knowledge development.