Tacit Knowledge

Tacit knowledge, a concept from Michael Polanyi, is based on the recognition that we know more than we can tell. The feel of crushing soybeans for miso, sensing koji temperature by palm, judging fermentation state from nuka bed aroma—these are bodily knowledge that manuals cannot fully convey. Data-driven brewing and AI are partially formalizing tacit knowledge. Yet acknowledging that un-formalizable domains exist is equally essential to understanding fermentation. Tacit knowledge demonstrates the irreducible value of human body and experience. The existence of tacit knowledge in fermentation demonstrates that AI and data analysis cannot replace everything. Touching, smelling, seeing—the fact that knowledge obtainable only through the human body exists is itself an important discovery.