Tacit Knowledge

 I have been working through the second lens in the handbook and the part I really felt fascinated by was the idea of tacit knowledge, a concept devised by scientist Michael Polanyi. 

Tacit knowledge is knowledge we have that cannot be expressed with words. Non verbal knowledge. This concept challenges the idea that words/ symbols are the only means for knowledge to be transferred. The reason we use language and the reason language exists is to communicate information from person to person however Polanyi' theory is that "we know more than we can tell". When thinking about this concept it brought me to one question... Can we pass on Tacit Knowledge? Can we transfer knowledge without having the ability to articulate what it is that we actually know? 

 An art which cannot be specified in detail cannot be transmitted by prescription, since no prescription for it exists. It can be passed on only by example from master to apprentice. (Polanyi 1958: 55)

Here Polanyi explains that it is only possible to pass on tacit knowledge of a skill through the physical act of copying and imitating. The knowledge is learnt through doing rather than through symbols such as language or numbers.  Within this theory he explains that to learn a skill through the transference of tacit knowledge you must "submit to authority." (Polanyi 1958) You have to place your trust in the master and imitate them, and by doing this you will unconsciously pick up the skill without knowing the unwritten rules surrounding it. 

 How have I used Tacit Knowledge within my practice?

An example of transferring tacit knowledge in my own practice comes from the ability to make certain vocal qualities when singing. During singing lessons, my teacher often asks me to make all sorts of weird noises allowing me to access and feel the varieties of vocal qualities. For example to access the vocal technique of twang, my teacher might use the analogy of replicating a duck. He would make the sound and I would then mimic it back to him. By doing this it enables me to feel the positioning of my larynx and the muscles around it, and then I can recreate that same position when applying it to a song. There is obviously a scientific explanation to explain what is happening physically inside my larynx and the surrounding muscles, but even if this is not known the skill is still achieved. The mechanics inside the larynx will automatically do what is required from them when I imitate the noise my teacher made. I am using muscle memory rather than actually articulating what is physically happening within my vocal muscles. This is a perfect example of how we transfer tacit knowledge when learning a skill.  

Another example within Dance... I am often asked by people who aren't dancers "How do you remember all of the moves?" The truth is I don't know what actually happens in order for me to remember the moves, all I know is that through repetition of the dance my muscle memory stores the sequence of movements so that I don't have to consciously think about what comes next, my body just does it for me.

Thanks for reading, If anyone has any other ideas about ways we use tacit knowledge I'd be really interested to hear! 

Shauna x

Module 1 Handbook

Polanyi, Michael. 2002 [1958]. Personal Knowledge: Towards a Post-Critical Philosophy. London: Routledge.  

Bennet, D. and Bennet, A., 2008. Engaging tacit knowledge in support of organizational learning. 1st ed. [ebook] VINE.