The similarities between good wine and good knowledge might be worth considering as one imagines the type, quantity and pairing issues in parallel with practice.
Imagine if we treated knowledge like wine in our work?
Consider the role of the sommelier in picking the right knowledge to go with the right circumstance (a pairing).
Recall what it is like to have something that was well-crafted and fits the mood (knowledge appropriateness).
Consider the consequences of having too much wine (information overload).
What about aging? Does the wine (or knowledge) need to be “fresh” and used quickly or does its value increase over a certain span of time?
When is the right time and how long should we wait to consume it?
Does this analogy fit and, if so, what does it mean for the way we approach generating knowledge and related products?
** Photo wine*empty glass by Naomi Ibuki used under Creative Commons License from Flickr
All right, Cameron, if we’re going to beat this analogy to death, what about blends? What about when the fruit of a single vine doesn’t create an optimal vintage? Australian, Chilean, and Californian vintners are all having tremendous success with blended vintages. Isn’t it the same for much of knowledge translation? A single study may advance an important point, but is frequently not persuasive without all of the related research to support it. Then, an evidence mapping exercise would be in order.