> Knowledge weaving is a collective process of threading information together to produce a useful and enduring reference for craft. Conventional knowledge work is atomistic. A scholar seeks to publish individual papers or books that contribute to a field of knowledge. What's missing is a complementary process of developing the field itself. What connects these knowledge atoms together? This gap has not been evident because we were restricted to linear platforms, such as tables of contents or the DEWEY decimal system. But of late, new platforms have emerged that allow for greater cross-referencing. The impact of these knowledge graphs on the field is comparable to the way spreadsheets changed accounting in the late twentieth century. The knowledge graph appears at a time when there are increasing calls for "collective sensemaking". They include the [Consilience Project](https://consilienceproject.org/), which connects papers on civilisational challenges and [Cynefin: Weaving Sensemaking into the Fabric of our World](https://thecynefin.co/) for shared resources on situational problem solving. Wikipedia has demonstrated the potential for collaborative crowd-sourced information platforms. But it is still a relatively linear platform, consisting of articles with footnotes. Uses are restricted to working on individual articles than the knowledge base as a whole. The [[Obsidian platform]] is one of many now that facilitate backlinks, so that you can see not only links inside the note, but also those notes that link to the one you are reading. This helps weave a web of knowledge that can be visualised when the graph is viewed as a whole. The process of making knowledge becomes more organic. ![[Pasted image 20221201090124.png]] https://cambridge-intelligence.com/visualizing-a-knowledge-graph/ To use a craft metaphor, knowledge is "woven". We start with individual references (articles, books, etc.) that are "spun", which involves distilling their contents into the core resilient claim. These form the vertical warps of the knowledge tapestry. Then a number of themes are identified can are common across references. These become the "weft" that links references together. Each reference can include a link to one of these wefts. Then, when looking at the weft as a note, all the relevant references can be viewed. These can be then used to develop the understanding of that theme. For instance, the article [[Warp/Craft and degrowth -An exploration of craft-orientation as a mode of organizing production and consumption]] (warp) is linked to [[Environmental value of craft]] (weft), where it can be seen at the bottom as one of the back links . This knowledge base will grow over time as more references and themes are included. It offers a knowledge commons which we can reference as the field of craft. It is open to scholars to help build. You can contribute. Your help is needed to champion the value of craft in our world today. While are many “feel good” articles about the wide benefits of craft, sceptical readers need more systematic analysis. [[The Value of Craft Project]] is a collective project for gathering all the material together in one knowledge base. You can contribute to this by identifying a useful reference and entering it with [this form](https://airtable.com/app9zWXm0H7VTRpRY/tblzUXaTOdiLxTrFR/viwgn3P8vsIJK5s6L?blocks=hide). For an ongoing contribution, please see our [Trello board](https://trello.com/b/M7HpNHKO/value-of-craft-report)). Just as the __Encyclopédie__ of the eighteenth century helped put the "mechanical arts" at the forefront of knowledge, so we today can use the tools at our disposal to help build a platform that reflects the relevance of craft to our world today. > The goal of an encyclopedia is to assemble all the knowledge scattered on the surface of the earth, to demonstrate the general system to the people with whom we live, & to transmit it to the people who will come after us, so that the works of centuries past is not useless to the centuries which follow, that our descendants, by becoming more learned, may become more virtuous & happier, & that we do not die without having merited being part of the human race. __Encyclopédie__, Diderot