Overview

Tacit knowledge (or implicit knowledge) is knowledge that is difficult to transfer to another person by means of writing it down or verbalizing it. It is the “know-how” that lives in our bodies and habits.

Core Idea

The core idea is “we can know more than we can tell” (Michael Polanyi).

Formal Definition

Tacit knowledge is knowledge that is not codified or explicit. It is often acquired through personal experience and practice.

  • Explicit Knowledge: Can be written in a manual (e.g., a recipe).
  • Tacit Knowledge: The skill required to execute the recipe perfectly (e.g., kneading dough).

Intuition

  • Riding a Bike: You know how to ride a bike. But can you write a manual that would enable someone who has never ridden one to immediately ride perfectly? No. They have to learn by doing. Your knowledge is tacit.
  • Recognizing a Face: You know your mother’s face instantly. But try describing it so precisely that a stranger could pick her out of a crowd of similar people. It’s very hard.

Examples

  • Language: Native speakers know the grammar rules tacitly; linguists make them explicit.
  • Craftsmanship: A master carpenter has a “feel” for the wood that cannot be fully explained in words.
  • Scientific Intuition: Experienced scientists have a “nose” for good problems that isn’t in the textbook.

Common Misconceptions

  • Misconception: Tacit knowledge is just “unconscious.”
    • Correction: It is often conscious in the sense that we are aware of doing it, but we cannot articulate the rules we are following.
  • Misconception: It can never be shared.
    • Correction: It can be shared through apprenticeship, imitation, and socialization, just not easily through text.
  • Know-How vs. Know-That: Ryle’s distinction between practical skill and propositional knowledge.
  • Procedural Memory: The psychological term for memory of skills.
  • Expert Systems: AI attempts to capture the tacit knowledge of experts (often difficult).

Applications

  • Knowledge Management: Companies try to capture the tacit knowledge of retiring experts.
  • Education: Apprenticeships and internships are designed to transfer tacit knowledge.

Criticism and Limitations

  • Ineffability: Because it can’t be spoken, it’s hard to analyze or critique.
  • Elitism: It can be used to exclude outsiders (“You just don’t have the ‘feel’ for it”).

Further Reading

  • The Tacit Dimension by Michael Polanyi
  • The Concept of Mind by Gilbert Ryle
  • Tacit Knowledge in Organizations by Baumard