TALE: A Possible Theme called “Knowledge Center”

Oliver Ding

Published in

TALE500

14 min readMar 23, 2023

Focus, Uniqueness, Unfoldness, and Wholeness

The above picture represents a Possible Theme called “TalkThree”.

Name: Knowledge Center
Clue: Focus, Uniqueness, and Unfoldness
Type: knowledge theme
Contributor: CALL (2022), Curativity Center (2022)
Reference: Platform Genidentity

The theme of “Knowledge Center” was initiated by CALL in Feb 2022. Later, Curativity Center followed it in 2022. TALE joined the micro movement in Jan 2023.

In 2022, I closed several projects and made several possible books. I also started several new projects. For example:

The Knowledge Center Project
The Thematic Engagement Project
The City Curation Project
The ARCH Project

Now we can use TALE to launch a possible theme called “Knowledge Center”.

The Seed of “Knowledge Center”

In Jan 2022, I designed two diagrams for the Activity Analysis project. These diagrams represent my new understanding of the project. Eventually, the website became a new project with a new concept called Knowledge Center.

This is an example of Developing Tacit Knowledge. During two months, my tacit knowledge about Activity Analysis expanded from a simple website into a “Knowledge Center”.

The notion of “Knowledge Center” was born from a talk about Activity Theory and the Activity Analysis project.

On Jan 2, 2022, I had a 71-minute talk with a friend of mine. He is an active curator of early local TEDx events in China. In recent years, he also curated local Design Sprint events in China. In addition, he often curates innovation workshops for local communities.

I briefly introduced the development of my personal studio CALL in the past year. Before the talk, he read the article CALL: Annual Review (2020–2021). The major part of our talk focused on my work on Activity Theory. As mentioned in the article, I completed the Activity U project (phase I) with three books in 2021:

I also introduced the theoretical concepts and methodological methods of Activity Theory.

At the end of the talk, we chatted about the future of CALL in 2022. I mentioned the Activity Analysis project. I told him that I’d like to run it as a Knowledge Center.

The notion of Knowledge Center is a new spark for me. I didn’t use the term to describe the Activity Analysis project before the talk. As a new spark, it emerged from a conversation.

On Jan 13, I designed the diagram below to visualize what I talked about the notion of “Knowledge Center” with my friend on Jan 2.

The above diagram describes an imagined project with a new concept.

An imagined project: the Activity Analysis project
A new concept: Knowledge Center

You can find more details in Thematic Space: The Art of Continuous Discovery.

What’s a “Center”?

The “Knowledge Center” thematic space appeared with an abstract question:

What’s a “Center”?

The term “Knowledge Center” refers to a Double-theme theme. For me, it means a center for developing certain knowledge. For the Activity Analysis project, certain knowledge refers to Activity Theory and other Social Practice theories.

Why do we need such a center?

What’s a center?

I had a rough answer to the question. A “center” should have its own uniqueness in order to establish its identity and theme. Otherwise, there is no need to build a “center”.

One day I noticed that there is a book about Christopher Alexander’s Pattern Theory on my bookshelf. I suddenly realized that “Center” is a core concept of Alexander’s theory.

The book is titled Pattern Theory: Introduction and Perspectives on the Tracks of Christopher Alexander. It was written by Helmut Leitner who is a fan of Christopher Alexander’s ideas. Leitner was motivated by his experience as a software engineer and by reading about Software Design Patterns. In 2007, he wrote the book in German. Later, the book was translated to English and published in 2015.

The author also shares the following diagrams for describing the latent structural elements existing around a single point on a sheet of paper.

Source: Pattern Theory: Introduction and Perspectives on the Tracks of Christopher Alexander (2015, p.33).

According to the author, “A single point on a sheet is connected to quite a number of structure elements, for example, the sheet; the point; the halo surrounding the point; the rectangles that come into existence by perceiving the point as separating the sheet into an upper, lower, right and left half; the four diagonals; the four quarters of the sheet and the white zones that separate them, starting from the halo of the point…” (2015, p.33)

Quite interesting!

One thing we can learn from the above discussion is Uniqueness.

As mentioned above, the term “Knowledge Center” refers to a Double-theme theme. For me, it means a center for developing certain knowledge.

Now, we should require a degree of uniqueness for certain knowledge.

A related issue is the degree of influence of the “Knowledge Center”. However, I consider “Knowledge Center” as a small-scale level. If a “Knowledge Center” establishes a high degree of influence, it becomes a “Knowledge Community”. In other words, “Knowledge Center” is the seed stage of “Knowledge Community”.

You can find more details in Mapping Thematic Space #4: The “Center” Thematic Space.

Building A Knowledge Enterprise

On May 6, 2022, I wrote an article about building a knowledge enterprise. I detach the model from the Activity Analysis project and attached it to a general idea: building a knowledge enterprise.The model aims to answer a related question:

How to grow a knowledge enterprise?

The model is inspired by Project-oriented Activity Theory. Each phase refers to a focus. The three-phase development is inspired by the following diagram which is one of a series of diagrams in the book.

I used the above diagram to explain the concept of “culture” from the perspective of Project-oriented Activity Theory. It zooms out to a large view that connects the Individual mind (Idea) and Collective theme (Zeitgeist) through Collective Projects (Concept).

Each Knowledge Enterprise is defined by a unique theme and it should be developed by its founders with a unique perspective.

While Phase 1 is about an individual mind, Phase 2 is about a collective project.

A knowledge center is a collective project that aims to develop a certain unique knowledge. A “center” should have its own uniqueness in order to establish its identity and theme. Otherwise, there is no need to build a “center”.

Phase 3 is building a Knowledge Community. The difference between Knowledge Center and Knowledge Community is Scope and Scale. A knowledge center may only have less than 15 members while a knowledge community may have thousands of members.

You can find more details in CALL: How to Grow A Knowledge Enterprise.

Unfolding Uniqueness

On May 29, 2022, I introduced the Platform Genidentity framework and toolkit for knowledge creators.

In 2019, I worked on the early version of Platform Ecology and applied the concept of Genidentity to study digital platform design and development.

I used the diagram below to represent a rough idea of the “Platform Genidentity” framework.

What’s Platform Genidentity? I use the concept of Platform Genidentity to describe a process of keeping the uniqueness of a platform within a long-term duration. For example, Google.com (a Search Engine), Wikipedia.org, YouTube.com, these three websites keep their original core design without major changes.

In order to understand the complexity of Platform Genidentity, I developed the following two new concepts:

Platform Core: a basic unit of a platform. For example, a Tweet, a YouTube video page, a Q&A page on Quora, etc.
Platform-ba: a platform-based sociocultural field. For example, YouTube-ba is a YouTube-based sociocultural space. You can find more details here.

As mentioned above, we have an operational definition of the concept of Genidentity: A thing’s Genidentity is defined by Essential Differences with Situated Dynamics.

For Platform Ecology, we need to discover the sources of Essential Differences and Situated Dynamics. I think the sources are Platform Core and Platform-ba. However, they don’t work as a one-to-one mapping relationship. See the above diagram.

A Platform-core is an untouchable thing. The movements of Objectification of Platform-core aim to make things that touchable. In other words, while Platform-core is an internal product, Platform is the final product for end-users.

In fact, a Platform-core can be understood as a Concept. Now we can adopt Project-oriented Activity Theory to understand the movements of Objectification.

The above diagram is a model of Project-oriented Activity Theory. It represents three types of objectification of a concept:

Symbolic Objectification: “Verbal” and “Visual”
Instrumental Objectification: “designed” and “found”
Practical Objectification: “Branded” and “Shared”

Based on the idea of objectification, I developed the following two models:

The Movements of Objectification of Platform-core (Three types)
Construal Levels of Platform Objectification (Six levels)

If we combine these two together, we can generate a 3x6 matrix. This is our strategic map for curating Platform-based Projects.

The above chart is an example of the Platform Genidentity Matrix. I use “Curativity” as an example of the meta-theory.

As mentioned above, the Platform Genidentity Matrix is our strategic map for curating Platform-based Projects. Now we have an instrument to deal with “Situated Dynamics”.

The changes in environments will bring us “Situated Dynamics” which refers to potential action opportunities. We perceive opportunities and select some opportunities for our next actions.

How do we select them? While the Platform-core determines the vision and direction, the Platform Genidentity Matrix offers a map for our decision-making for growing the Platform with concrete actions.

You can find more details in Platform Genidentity: The Movements of Unfolding Uniqueness.

The Launch Day of Curativity Center

If we apply the “Themes of Practice” framework to reflect on my journey of engaging with the theme of “Knowledge Center”, then the above ideas are all about thinking about a theme. Later, I moved to the “Practice” part.

On June 2, 2022, I launched Curativity Center.

The day is a big day for my studio CALL which stands for Creative Action Learning Lab.

From 2019 to 2022, CALL worked on several projects. One of the projects is the Knowledge Curation Project which is an application of my 2019 book Curativity: The Ecological Approach to General Curation Practice.

The Knowledge Curation project produced several books (drafts) and a set of tools. It grew into a large knowledge enterprise.

I tended to write articles about Curativity Theory and the Knowledge Curation Project on CALL’s publication on Medium.

On June 2, 2022, I renamed an old publication on Medium and relaunched it as Curativity Center. I also made a homepage for Curativity Center on Milanote.

Curativity Center was defined as a meta-center for building a network of knowledge centers:

Creative Action Learning Lab (CALL)
Activity Analysis Center
Platform Ecology Center
Life Strategy Center
Curativity Center

You can find more details in CALL: The Launch Day of Curativity Center.

Mapping Thematic Landscape

On September 5, 2022, I developed a method called Mapping Thematic Landscape for understanding the complexity of a network of Knowledge Centers. See the diagram below.

The method uses three nested circles as a basic model.

Theme: this inner circle is for displaying Themes and Books.
Work: the middle circle refers to Projects and two types of Knowledge Frameworks: Abstract Models and Concrete Models.
Play: the outer circle is about Programs that consider two types of things: Tools and Actions.

While the Theme circle and the Work circle are about knowledge makers’ individual work, the Play circle refers to the collaborative space between knowledge makers and knowledge users.

These three circles also have different significant aspects of complexity.

Theme: the cognitive aspect of complexity is the primary challenge.
Work: the material aspect of complexity is the primary challenge.
Play: the social aspect of complexity is the primary challenge.

The above model is inspired by a model of Project-oriented Activity Theory. It represents three types of Objectification of a Concept:

Symbolic Objectification: “Verbal” and “Visual”
Instrumental Objectification: “designed” and “found”
Practical Objectification: “Branded” and “Shared”

You can find more details and large-size images in Slow Cognition: Mapping Thematic Landscape (Curativity, 2019–2022).

From Knowledge Themes to Knowledge Centers

On Jan 1, 2023, I launched a new knowledge center called TALE.

TALE stands for Thematic Analysis Learning Engagement. The new logo uses the “boat” visual imagery as its inspiration. The “boat” visual imagery is also associated with “ocean”, “adventure”, “horizon”, “exploration”, “uncertainty”, “direction”, “hope”, “anticipation”, etc.

I used TALE to host the Thematic Engagement project.

As a knowledge center, TALE considers the “Person — Theme” relationship and interaction as its primary object.

Anthropologist Morris Opler (1945) developed a theoretical concept called “cultural themes” for studying culture. Career counseling therapists and psychologists also developed a theoretical concept called “life themes”.

From the perspective of innovation, we consider Themes as a sign of Trends in social life and individual life.

There are various concrete activities and projects under the abstract notion of Thematic Engagement. TALE will introduce some examples one by one.

In the past two months, TALE made a series of possible themes and hosted several thematic conversations. You can find more details in the following three links:

You can also pay attention to a post titled Possible Configurations of A Theme Network.

A Network of Knowledge Centers

Inspired by Howard Gruber’s “Network of Enterprise”, I work on multiple knowledge centers. Each knowledge center refers to a unique unit of analysis.

However, my real action is one project at one time. For example,

I am recently working on TALE (Thematic Analysis Learning Engagement) which is a brand-new knowledge center. The real project is the Knowledge Engagement Project.

Through TALE is about Knowledge Themes and Cultural Themes, I only focus on Knowledge Themes in the early stage of TALE.

The idea of “Knowledge Theme” is also part of the Knowledge Engagement project.

What are other ideas about Knowledge Engagement?

See the diagram below:

- Knowledge Framework
- Knowledge Center

In each stage, we can focus on three ideas. This is the present status of the Knowledge Engagement Project.

From June 2022 to March 2023, I did three things.

I built six knowledge centers. It is a network of knowledge centers.
I developed a set of tools for understanding the complexity of knowledge centers
I developed a systematic theoretical approach to Creative Life and wrote four books.

Now, it is time to review the concept “Knowledge Center”.

Focus, Uniqueness, Unfoldness, and Wholeness

In 2022, I considered Uniqueness as the starting point of a “Knowledge Center”.

A knowledge center is a collective project that aims to develop certain unique knowledge. A “center” should have its own uniqueness in order to establish its identity and theme. Otherwise, there is no need to build a “center”.

In 2023, the issue is about the complexity of a network of knowledge centers.

How can we keep the uniqueness of individual knowledge centers while we can build the synergy effects of a network?

Inspired by the Project Engagement approach (v2.1)’s six units of analysis, I realized that I can use “Units of Analysis” to connect the following seven knowledge centers together.

1. CALL(Creative Action Learning Lab) Center
The “Human — Material” Interaction

2. ARCH Center
The Interpersonal Interaction

3. Activity Analysis Center
Human Activity/Social Practice

4. Platform Ecology Center
Platform, Network, and Ecosystem

5. Life Strategy Center
Lifelong Development

6. TALE (Thematic Analysis Learning Engagement) Center
Themes behind Social Practices

7. Curativity Center:
The All-in-one Wholeness

What does it mean?

Originally, I used books/theoretical approaches to frame uniqueness. Now I separate theoretical approaches from the wholeness level.

At the wholeness level, the difference between individual knowledge centers is their units of analysis. In this way, I can build a meaningful whole for a network of knowledge centers.

At the uniqueness level, each knowledge center can focus on its own aspects, perspectives, frameworks, tools, etc.

Some theoretical approaches can be applied to one or more knowledge centers. For example, the Ecological Practice Approach.

The Theory of Creative Life can be applied to all six units of analysis.

cc: I’d like to say thank you to Maurizio Goetz!

On May 6, 2022, Maurizio Goetz asked me the following question:

“How do you make sense of an emergent topic or emergent field?”

My answer was an article and a new journey of building knowledge centers.

TALE: A Possible Theme called “Knowledge Center”

The Seed of “Knowledge Center”

What’s a “Center”?

Building A Knowledge Enterprise

Unfolding Uniqueness

The Launch Day of Curativity Center

Mapping Thematic Landscape

From Knowledge Themes to Knowledge Centers

A Network of Knowledge Centers

Focus, Uniqueness, Unfoldness, and Wholeness

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Written by Oliver Ding