Recipes for Systemic Change - Helsinki Design Lab

30 ChapterSketching the Escalating Division of KnowledgeTo test the extent to which silos of knowledgeare growing in number and simultaneouslybecoming increasingly narrow, we producedthis quick sketch comparing the numberof subjects on offer at the University ofCambridge—one of the oldest institutions inthe world. Referring to the university's ownwebsite we found listings of the subjectson offer today and during the middle ages.Although we had access to a four volume setthat describes the full history of the university,we opted to maintain the spirit of a sketchand instead look for a more easily accessiblesource that could help quantify the growthtrajectory. Diderot & d’Alembert’s Encyclopédiewas a natural choice. From each listing wegathered only the top two levels of hierarchy(as determined by the description of medievalCambridge, which only had two).The intent of this exercise is to provide a quickscale to the trend so that we could understandthe quality of growth in addition to having anidea of the quantity. This implies that while thevolume of human knowledge has grown, sohas its partiality.11th C.18th C.21st C.Cambridge UniversityDiderot & d’Alembert’sEncyclopédieCambridge University11 Areas13 Areas67 AreasArtsGrammarLogicRhetoricArithmeticMusicGeometryAstronomyDivinityLawMedicineHistorySacredEcclesiasticalCivil, Ancient, &ModernNaturalPhilosophyGeneral MetaphysicsScience of GodScience of ManScience of NaturePoetryProfaneSacredArts and HumanitiesFaculty of Architecture and History of Art, Faculty of Asian and MiddleEastern Studies, Faculty of Classics, Faculty of Divinity, Faculty of English,Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages, Faculty of Music, Faculty ofPhilosophy, Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and HumanitiesBiological Sciences, including Veterinary MedicineDepartment of Biochemistry, Department of Experimental Psychology,Department of Genetics, Department of Pathology, Department ofPharmacology, Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience,Department of Plant Sciences, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Departmentof Zoology, Wellcome Trust/Cancer Research UK Gurdon Institute,Sainsbury Laboratory, Wellcome Trust Centre for Stem Cell Research,Cambridge Systems Biology CentreClinical MedicineClinical Biochemistry, Clinical Neurosciences, Haematology, MedicalGenetics, Medicine, Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Oncology, Paediatrics,Psychiatry, Public Health & Primary Care, Radiology, SurgeryHumanities and Social SciencesFaculty of Archaeology and Anthropology, Faculty of Economics, Facultyof Education, Faculty of History, Faculty of Law, Institute of Criminology,Faculty of Politics, Psychology, Sociology and International Studies,Department of Land Economy, Centre of Latin American Studies, Centreof African Studies, Centre of South Asian Studies, Development StudiesCommitteePhysical SciencesDepartment of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, Instituteof Astronomy, Department of Chemistry, Department of Earth Sciences,Department of Geography (including the Scott Polar Research Institute),Department of Material Sciences and Metallurgy, Isaac Newton Institutefor Mathematical Sciences, Department of Physics, Department of PureMathematics and Mathematical StatisticsTechnologyEngineering, Chemical Engineering & Biotechnology, Computer Laboratory,Judge Business School, Cambridge Programme for SustainabilityLeadership