2 - Intermission in knowhow transmission

Presentation Abstract
About knowhow and its transmission practices, I propose to problematize the term transmission itself to delve into the social-pragmatic of knowhow construction. Talking about knowhow transmission reminds me of the story of Bambang Ekalaya (Indonesian) or Ekalavya (Indian) in Mahabharata in his journey to learn archery.  In order to get the best teacher for this skill, Ekalavya met Drona, the famous teacher of the royal families: Pandawa and Kurawa. Unfortunately, Drona rejected Ekalavya because he was lower caste and came from the enemy side. Nevertheless, Ekalavya continued his training journey by making a statue of Drona and training himself in archery skills next to it. Eventually, he became a top-notch archer, even surpassing the well-known Arjuna. 

Most of the discussed wisdom in this story is the teacher-disciple loyalty mixed with unequal class relations. The lacuna is how Ekalavya trains himself in archery. The process question needs to be included in the reflection of the story. It is due to, I argue, the presumption that knowhow of practice is already given and the process of transmission is only about transporting it from the have to the have-not. Ekalavya's story prompts us to think not in terms of transmission but intermission, that is, a pause in the knowhow process in which the master does not exist. Thinking in the intermission of knowhow, that is the situation in which the schoolmaster is absent, can stimulate a set of new questions in exploring knowhow that is forming in contemporary scenes.