Reflection · Intertween · 13 October 2026. An essay with a fictional teaching example, not findings from a pilot.
Start with a source
A case officer finds a method referencing a measurement. The file opens, but questions remain: which version was used, where was the measurement taken and who assessed its relevance? Following knowledge begins by making such references examinable.
When a colleague challenges the different location, that challenge needs to remain with its evidence. Shared learning needs room for differences, not just more connections.
Follow the actors, starting with Knowledge Objects
Bruno Latour’s work on actor-network theory draws attention to how associations are formed and traced. We borrow an investigative stance: begin with specifics and follow references, actions and disagreements before explaining the whole.
For Intertween, this means beginning with a Knowledge Object and following its documented connections. References lead to people, organisations, instruments and decisions. Following Knowledge Objects is our application, not a quotation from Latour or a complete account of his theory.
Ma: attention to the meaningful interval
The Japanese concept of Ma (間) can concern intervals in both space and time. Here it inspires us to attend to what happens between a source and an interpretation, between organisations or between an event and what we learn much later.
An interval is not always a missing link to fill. It may reflect a need for protection, a real disagreement or a question we cannot yet answer. Ma is philosophical inspiration for this attention, not a register function or product.
Return to the question when something changes
When the measurement is corrected, we need to see which assessments reference it. We need to distinguish when something happened, when it was recorded and when a statement applied. A correction raises questions for responsible people; it does not automatically invalidate every later conclusion.
TEACHING EXAMPLE · SIMULATED EVENTS
All objects, dates and events are fictional and entered in advance. No AI runs, no nodes exchange information and no permissions are enforced.
Observation recorded
A measurement is described in object EX-OBS-01. It concerns 10 January but is recorded on 12 January.
Assessment at the selected time: No connection to the method is yet described.
Original source
EX-OBS-01 · version 1
Observation: 10 January. Recorded: 12 January.
Later steps do not rewrite the original.
Described at the selected time
EX-OBS-01 · version 1
No later version is recorded.
A review flag does not automatically make the method wrong.
Show the complete prepared event list
- — Observation recorded
A measurement is described in object EX-OBS-01. It concerns 10 January but is recorded on 12 January.
- — Connection proposed
A reviewer proposes that the observation supports method EX-METOD-01. The reference and its asserting role are recorded in the scenario.
- — Context added
Another reviewer notes that the measurement concerns a different location. The challenge becomes a separate contribution.
- — Source corrected
The custodian describes a corrected measurement in version 2, valid from 19 January. The change is recorded on 20 January. Version 1 remains as earlier evidence in the example.
- — Method flagged for reassessment
A reference from the method to version 1 makes the dependency visible. A responsible person needs to assess whether the method should change. The reviewer’s assignment has also ended; continued authority and visibility need separate review.
The We, Not the Me.
Shared learning needs both recognition and boundaries. A contribution, personal identity, authority to act and rights to the material are distinct questions. An organisation needs to share a permitted description without making all its source material public.
We are therefore developing a framework with local responsibility and proposed federated nodes. The examples illustrate our thinking about sources and connections. Exchange between independent nodes and governance of changing conditions over time remain to be built and tested.
Our five guiding principles ↗References and further reading
- Bruno Latour, Reassembling the Social (2005)
- Bruno Latour, On using ANT for studying information systems
- JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles, A Perspective on the Japanese Concept of Ma (2020)
Follow a source example ↗ · Relationships and the register ↗