Eighteenth-century technical knowledge was a scattered patchwork of rival secret knowledges

Evidence

First of all, we have the plural, polymorphous, multiple, and dispersed existence of different knowledges, which existed with their differences—differences defined by geographical regions, by the size of the workshops or factories, and so on. The differences among them—I am speaking of technological expertise, remember—were defined by local categories, education, and the wealth of their possessors. And these knowledges were struggling against one another, with one another, in a society where knowing the secret behind technological knowledge was a source of wealth, and in which the mutual independence of these knowledges also made individuals independent. — Michel Foucault, Society Must Be Defended, 195

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: The word science narrowed its meaning after the industrial revolution; Eighteenth-century technological advance was a multiplicity-struggle, not enlightenment progress; Modern knowledge is more opaque to individuals than pre-modern local knowledge was — Anthony Giddens, The Consequences of Modernity, 348 (+2 more)

Related

• Eighteenth-century technological advance was a multiplicity-struggle, not enlightenment progress (similarity 0.91)
• The word science narrowed its meaning after the industrial revolution (similarity 0.86)
• Science in the singular did not exist before the eighteenth century. (similarity 0.84)

Broader Connections

• Modern knowledge is more opaque to individuals than pre-modern local knowledge was #expands (0.78) — Anthony Giddens, The Consequences of Modernity, 348
• Science in the singular did not exist before the eighteenth century. #corroborates (0.75) — Michel Foucault, Society Must Be Defended, 198
• Colonial administrative decision-making consolidated conflicting local knowledge into packages #complicates (0.72)