"There is so much knowledge trapped in these ancient civilizations that we aren't equipped to handle today," says Brandon Clifford, lecturer in architectural design at MIT.
This "knowledge trap" disregards our decision-making skills (often intentionally), opting instead for the logical decision-making of a computer or calculator.
People often become victims of the "knowledge trap" or "analysis paralysis," thinking they need to weigh every bit of information against all possible outcomes.
Frame analysis identifies how problems are encased by scientific understandings and captured by transition barriers: policy cooptation, techno-institutional lock-in, and knowledge trap.
Too much knowledge gets trapped in multi-page pdf files that are slow to download (especially in low-bandwidth areas), costly to print, and unavailable for computer analysis until someone manually or automatically extracts the raw data.
Once the knowledge now trapped on the printed page moves onto the Web, where people can retrieve it from their homes, offices, and dorm rooms, libraries could turn into lonely caverns inhabited mainly by preservationists.
This knowledge gets trapped in universities and getting it out is hard.
That means a local expert's knowledge ends up trapped while tourists and first-timers wander aimlessly.
Quora's library of knowledge has been trapped behind inadequate topic search, but now any keyword generates a list of frequently asked questions and answers about the subject thanks to today's launch of full-text search on iOS and Android, and its web debut in March.
That is, companies that want to transform themselves not only must acquire new capabilities, but they also must often forget old knowledge that traps them in the past.
