ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with the basic tenet of social construction of reality'. Additional kinds of knowledge are then brought into focus, such as informal and implicit knowledge and, in particular, experiences. The sociology of knowledge discusses knowledge as a product of society and thus framed by social settings in historical time and in particular spaces. Distinct from formal scientific-technical knowledge, non-formalised or informal knowledge is often viewed as not representative, not replicable and incalculable. The term implicit' knowledge is widely used alongside informal' knowledge. Implicit knowledge does not refer to explicitly articulated mental constructs. Experience' means knowledge formed on the basis of former impressions and perceptions. Experiences share some of the characteristics of informal and implicit knowledge in that they are usually not representative, not easy to replicate and difficult to calculate. Experiential knowledge is important for the production of scientific-technical knowledge even in globally distributed teams of engineers and technicians.
