When You Are in the Bush, You Know What You Know
We were traversing the Nambiti Big 5 Private Reserve in the South African bush on our evening safari by way of Land Cruiser. It was just after sunset when our field guide, Peter, came to a stop. He jumped out of the auto and walked over to a shrub. The 10 of us in the Land Cruiser were clueless as to what he saw. He reached into the shrub and plucked out a quite large grasshopper looking creature. Peter then preceded to cause the Green Milkweed Locust to extend its vibrant wings with a slight squeeze to its abdomen. Someone uttered, “How do he even see it?” This question was likely bubbling up within all of us. The answer? Tacit knowing; through his experience he has come to know what to see in the night.
Michael Polanyi, a Hungarian-British scientist, and philosopher, was the first to explore the importance of tacit knowing. He said, “one can know more than one can tell”[1], and therefore, “most of this knowledge cannot be put into words”[2]. A collection of three Terry Lectures makes up his book, The Tacit Dimension. Through these lectures he presents the components of Tacit Knowing (part 1), expands his theory “through generalizations”[3] in Emergence (part 2), and ponders whether humans can then “exercise the kind of responsible judgment”[4] from within this tacit knowing in A Society of Explorers (part 3). On a foundational level, Polanyi’s epistemology reveals his working out of his Jewish heritage in light of his appreciation of Christian faith; our knowing what we know is mysterious.
Reflecting on a few of our past readings, I can hear echoes of Polanyi’s argument of the importance of knowing grounded in community in An Everyone Culture. In addition, the nature of biases and system 1 & 2 that Kahneman unpacks in Thinking, Fast and Slow have tacit connections to Polanyi’s tacit knowing. Erin Myer’s notation of “reading the air” in high-context cultures in The Culture Map, seems to be informed by tacit knowing; “we recognize the moods of the human face, without being able to tell, except quite vaguely, by what signs we know it.”[5] For me, the most subtle connection is to Friedman’s A Failure of Nerve. Polanyi says, “In all our waking moments we are relying on our awareness of contacts of our body with things outside for attending to these things. Our own body is the only thing in the world which we normally never experience as an object.”[6] This truth finds its way into how we must be well-differentiated and informs us on a psychological plane to embodied self-regulation.
The most satisfying take away I have from reading The Tacit Dimension is finding peace from the anxiety I have had over my NPO and project. I have been long traversing the bush at night in my mental land cruiser with “imposters syndrome” around my project. While my peers seem to have strong projects in response to the need they are responding to, I have doubted I have a worthy concept. Polanyi offered me at least a spotlight to illuminate that which I can see to pluck from the “tree of knowledge” when he said,
“but we can know a problem, and feel sure that is pointing to something hidden behind it, we can be aware also of the hidden implications of a scientific discovery, and feel confident that they will prove right. We feel sure of this, because in contemplating the discovery we are looking at it not only in itself but, more significantly, as a clue to a reality of which it is a manifestation.”[7]
Polanyi’s words encourage me to lean into my hunch that God is calling the church to a new thing. My instinct to lead the church to discover possibilities of embodying transformed ways of being the church, in the contexts it lives, is my calling. Though I only see dimly in the mirror what the solution is, I am now more confident my NPO is important to engage in. It is ok if my project may not be seen as an appropriate “solution to the need”. I know if I keep engaging in the work at some point, I will finally be able to spot the creature in the dark. When you are in the bush, you know what you know.
[1] Polanyi, Michael, and Amartya Sen. The Tacit Dimension. Revised ed. edition. Chicago ; London: University of Chicago Press, 2009.Page 8.
[2] Ibid. Page 4.
[3] Ibid. Page 48.
[4] Ibid. Page 56.
[5]Ibid. Page 5.
[6]Ibid. Page 15-16.
[7][7] Ibid. Page 23-24
About the Author
Nicole Richardson
PC(USA) pastor serving a church in Kansas City. In my spare time I teach yoga and scuba diving6 responses to “When You Are in the Bush, You Know What You Know”
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Nicole, thank you for your thoughtful and thought-provoking post (and loved the bush references!). I really appreciated your connections of Polanyi to some of our other readings and had to laugh, as our resident expert on Friedman, you also connected the two. I was especially encouraged to read how Polanyi has resourced you in your NPO journey and work! This part of the quote from Polanyi especially caught my attention: “…in contemplating the discovery we are looking at it not only in itself but, more significantly, as a clue to a reality of which it is a manifestation.” As you look with fresh “Polanyi” eyes at your NPO, I’m wondering which of your discoveries made so far (or combination therein) have most informed your call to “lead the church to discover possibilities of embodying transformed ways of being the church, in the contexts it lives”? How do those discoveries serve as clues towards manifesting the reality you believe the church is called to embody?
Nicole, first of all, I’m jealous that you got extra time in South Africa. OK, confession over. Second, I really enjoyed how the book connected with you in such a personal way. It sounded almost like a devotional for you – I wish I had the same experience. Third, the concept of your NPO sounds very legit! I look forward to what you will produce.
Nice connection of what Polanyi wrote and your own anxiety of “imposter’s syndrome” with your NPO and project portfolio. I like what Polanyi says about our hunches and traditions and how that can guide as just as much as the scientific method. Perhaps on graduation day you will no longer feel like an imposter, but a worthy scholar.
Nicole, I think your statement “our knowing what we know is mysterious” perfectly sums up this reading and your NPO journey. As being in your direct peer group, I can see how this tacit knowledge concept can encourage you as you are envisioning and focusing on a ‘problem’ that not many others are able to see directly. I think much of the church feels the longing for what you are focusing your work on but perhaps doesn’t know how to articulate it in the way the Lord has done for you. Keep leaning in.
Hey there Nicole! Boy, I am really intrigued to see and hear where your NPO takes you, beyond this next year. I can ressonate with what you are saying – a sense of knowing, but failing to comprehend it enough to communicate it in words. Keep me posted!
Nicole,
Your look at life always brightens my day and gives me hope. I too was encouraged by Polanyi’s words that we already have it within us for what we are pursuing in our NPOs. A word of encouragement…do not be deceived we are all faking it, to some degree. I speak for myself. Through this book, I heard the Father say that we were created for this moment. That he had deposited something special that only you can find, excavate, and communicate your special view of God’s heart.