|
Tacit versus Explicit Knowledge
Michael Polanyi(1966) mentioned, "We
can know more that we can tell". According to him, knowledge that can be expressed in words and numbers only represents the tip of
the iceberg of the entire body of possible knowledge. Polanyi classified human knowledge
into two categories.
It is highly personal and hard to formalize, making it difficult to communicate of share with others. Subjective insights, intuitions and hunches fall into this category of knowledge. It is deeply rooted in and individuals actions and experience as well as in the ideals, values, or emotions he or she embraces. Personal quality which makes it hard to formalize and communicate. It indwells in a comprehensive cognizance of the human mind and body. Japanese view knowledge as being primarily tacit, something not easily visible and expressible. There are two dimensions to tacit knowledge:
Codified knowledge that can be transmitted in formal, systematic language. It is discrete or digital. It is captured in records of the past such as libraries, archives and databases and is assessed on a sequential basis. It can be expressed in words and numbers and shared in the form of data, scientific formulate, specifications, manuals and the like. This kind of knowledge can be readily transmitted between individuals formally and systematically. In the west, in general, this form of knowledge has been emphasized.
Resource: Polanyi, M. (1966), "The Tacit Dimension, London :Routledge & Kegan Paul.
|
|
Up Classification (Data - Information - Knowledge) Next |
---|