ABSTRACT
Polanyi begins from the fact that the greatest part of our knowledge is subservient to our goals and actions. It is in the background but is not called on in the form of statements. Most of what we do is done on the basis of routines which are familiar and within which we follow established patterns and familiar heuristics of interpretation of what is taking place. We cannot focus on the knowledge necessary to accomplish these actions without detracting from the performance itself, and so risking ‘putting ourselves off’. In extreme cases, such as repetitively operating a very simple machine, we can ‘switch off ’ completely. When we have to concentrate on a skilled action we are mostly focusing on what could go wrong rather than on the positive components, which are necessary but which can be taken for granted.
