What we can tell reflect what we know.

“We can know more than we can tell.”

– Michael Polanyi

Here I am again with my compendium. It’s module 2 now, the first reading, part 1 of the first reading to be exact. And I came across this sentence, “we can know more than we can tell”. Oh darn! I could not help it to write it here. My mind went explode when I read his sentence. I tried to be patient and finished reading the entire reading material but could. not. help. it. anymore.

Isn’t that just a self justification of the introvert, like me, for not trying hard in exercising our speech ability? If you really have the knowledge should not you be able to articulate that knowledge well? Of course, disregarding, speech impediment of course.

Michael Eraut wrote, does it refer to knowledge which is not communicated, or knowledge which cannot be communicated? Is it an attitude of the knower which some can communicate and some cannot; or is it an attribute of the knowledge itself? Could it be an element of both?

What is knowledge without you being able to communicate it to others? Even when you are working with electronics, gadgets, machines or robots, you still need to communicate at least to one other person to take over or continue what you are doing just incase something happen to you, right? Right? Right?

I am not attacking my own kind, the introvert. But we do need to get out of this self justification and find our way to close to perfection as human being. What we are struggling at, that’s what we should be struggling at. I agree, we can know more than we can tell. That’s for sure a fact. But hear me. What we can tell reflect what we know.