01
Tacit knowledge works before it becomes language.
Michael Polanyi's phrase, we know more than we can tell, captures the problem. Experts recognize, choose, pace, and adjust through knowledge that is real even when it resists explanation.
02
Tacit knowledge leaves evidence.
The knowledge may be hard to verbalize, but it still shows up in work: repeated cues, fast decisions, skipped steps, consistent phrasing, and different responses to different situations.