Source note · Independent commentary
The part of expertise that cannot be written down
It gives a careful vocabulary for the part of skill that shows up as noticing and timing rather than as rules, which is exactly the part a tool's output does not display.
Research reviewed
The Tacit Dimension
- Authors
- Michael Polanyi
- Publication
- University of Chicago Press (originally Doubleday, 1966)
- Date
- 1966
- Type
- Book
A short philosophical work arguing that a great deal of human knowledge cannot be fully put into words: people know more than they are able to articulate, and skilled practice depends on that unstated knowledge.
Read the original sourceWhat the source supports
- The claim that skilled practice includes knowledge the practitioner cannot fully articulate.
- The observation that explicit rules never capture the whole of a skill.
What the source does not support
- Any claim about artificial intelligence, which the book predates by decades in its modern form.
- The claim that tacit knowledge cannot be imitated in output. Polanyi is describing knowing, not the reproducibility of results.
What Sougata is doing with it
Sougata uses Polanyi as a vocabulary for the part of experience that shows up as noticing, timing, and knowing when a result is wrong. Applying that vocabulary to AI-assisted work is Sougata's extension and should be read as interpretation.
This is an independent Voyagers Beyond source note. Voyagers Beyond is not affiliated with or endorsed by the authors, publishers, universities, organizations, or institutions referenced here unless explicitly stated otherwise. The summary and analysis are written independently; nothing from the work is reproduced.
Why it matters here