Abstract
Simon first proposed the concept of transnational stock of knowledge when studying the world’s modern economic growth, and indicated the stock of knowledge of each country as an important factor for its economic growth.
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Notes
- 1.
Mathematically, the knowledge system is defined as below: let U be a finite field, \( F\,\, \subseteq \,\,P\left( U \right) \) be a set algebra, name \( \left( {U,F} \right) \) as the stock of knowledge, for any \( X\,\, \in \,\,F \), X is meta-knowledge. Let \( L:P\left( U \right) \to F \) be the inevitability operator, if L satisfied: (1) \( L\left( X \right)\,\, \subseteq \,\,X\left( {X \in P\left( U \right)} \right) \); (2) \( L\left( U \right) = U \); (3) \( L\left( {X\,\,\mathop { \cap \,\,}\nolimits Y} \right) = L\left( X \right)\,\,\mathop \cap \nolimits \,\,L\left( Y \right)\left( {X,Y \in P\left( U \right)} \right) \); \( L\left( X \right) \) is called the inevitable knowledge of X. Let \( H:P\left( U \right) \to F \) be a possible operator, if H satisfies: (1) \( X \subseteq H\left( X \right)\left( {X \in P\left( U \right)} \right) \); (2) \( H\left( \phi \right) = \phi \); (3) \( H\left( {X\,\,\mathop \cup \nolimits \,\,Y} \right) = H\left( X \right)\mathop {\,\, \cup \,\,}\nolimits H\left( Y \right)\left( {X,Y \in P\left( U \right)} \right) \), of which, \( H\left( X \right) \) is called the possible knowledge of X. If L and H are dual, that is, \( H\left( { \sim X} \right) = \sim L(X)(X \in P\left( U \right)) \) is satisfied, and \( (U,F,L,H) \) is called the knowledge system.
- 2.
Edited in the Song Dynasty of China, “Tai Ping Guang Ji” (Extensive records of the Taiping era (978)) collected a lot of stories of becoming immortals, so that people firmly believed in the existence of immortals and the possibility of human beings becoming immortals. The story of Liu An, a king of Huainan of the Han Dynasty was a typical example: One day, there came eight immortals, each of them had a magic power. They claimed to be able to command the wind and rain, to squirt the clouds, to let rivers run on the dry land, to make mountains grow on the flats, to raze mountains to the ground, to let rivers dry up, to dominate ghosts, to turn a body into multiple ones and to make themselves invisible. They could also turn the day into the night, ride on a cloud; and fly freely over rivers and lakes. They were not afraid of water or fire, and they did not feel cold in winter, nor did they feel hot in summer. They were changeable and could turn into grass and animals at will. They could move the palace and house freely; turn soil into gold; and turn waves into pearls. After Liu An heard of this, he was very yearning, and held a grand reception to these immortals, who left him a book, “Yu Dan Jin”. Liu An followed the procedure in the book and finally succeeded in making the elixir. Later, Liu An was accused of rebellion, so Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty ordered to kill him. Liu An ate the elixir, and became an immortal accompanied by the eight immortals. Liu An was in a hurry when he left, and the remaining elixir was left in the courtyard. His dogs and chickens ate the elixir and all flied to heaven. This leaves an idiom that has been passed down for generations, “when a man becomes an immortal, even his dogs and chickens ascend to heaven”.
- 3.
In the classical two-course rotation, fields were planted and left fallow in alternate years to maintain soil fertility and accumulate moisture. Crops were harvested every two years, and once the fertility of the soil declined, planting would be moved to a new location. This kind of planting rotation was mainly applied in the Mediterranean basin. The classical three-course rotation was a spring crop, which would be harvested in the summer; an autumn sowing of wheat or rye, which would be harvested in the following summer; and a year of fallow to help restore fertility of the soil. The three-course rotation firstly occurred in the northern France in the latter part of the 8th century, and by the beginning of 11th century, it was widely practiced throughout northwestern Europe.
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Wang, Z. (2019). Knowledge Evolution. In: The Principle of Trading Economics. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-0379-5_22
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-0379-5_22
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