The Cognitive Rift identifies the structural separation between those who provide material and labor support for knowledge production, and those who extract value from it. This includes the role of digital platforms in organizing knowledge control and authority.
The cognitive rift is not a deficit of skill. It is produced through concentrated ownership, political economy, and institutional design. Ecological and human labor costs are displaced from centers of knowledge production, while the benefits of cognition are centralized.
Click the menu to find examples of medical care, financial markets, and new laws. These illustrate how knowledge can be supported and created in one place, yet be beneficial somewhere else via the cognitive rift.
Craig Van Pelt 