The Difference Between Knowing How and Knowing How
Terry L. Mitchell
August 07, 2009
I doubt that most people realize this, but there are two different kinds of knowledge, as it relates to being able to perform a given task. I call them "type 1" knowledge and "type 2" knowledge. These types vary by individual, so that what might be type 1 knowledge for one person is type 2 knowledge for another, and vice versa.
Type 1 knowledge is the simple kind. It can acquired merely by reading a book or set of instructions, or perhaps being trained or attending a class. Very often, it requires some practice as well. At any rate, it involves learning how to do something and from then on being able to do it. For me, knowing how to use a given piece of software would be an example of this kind of knowledge. In my profession, I´m required to learn how to use new software all the time. That´s not a problem. I just learn it and starting using it.
Type 2 knowledge, however, is more complex. It is an innate ability, skill, or gift that someone is born with. It can be refined by education and training, but someone who does not have that particular talent cannot learn it that way. For example, I don´t know how to repair automobile engines. I could read all the books, take all the training, and attend all the classes on that subject that I wanted to, but I still wouldn´t know how to repair automobile engines. I´m not mechanically inclined, so all of that reading and education would do me absolutely no good.
People often discount this difference when blithely counseling others to learn how to do such and such.
Type 1 knowledge is the simple kind. It can acquired merely by reading a book or set of instructions, or perhaps being trained or attending a class. Very often, it requires some practice as well. At any rate, it involves learning how to do something and from then on being able to do it. For me, knowing how to use a given piece of software would be an example of this kind of knowledge. In my profession, I´m required to learn how to use new software all the time. That´s not a problem. I just learn it and starting using it.
Type 2 knowledge, however, is more complex. It is an innate ability, skill, or gift that someone is born with. It can be refined by education and training, but someone who does not have that particular talent cannot learn it that way. For example, I don´t know how to repair automobile engines. I could read all the books, take all the training, and attend all the classes on that subject that I wanted to, but I still wouldn´t know how to repair automobile engines. I´m not mechanically inclined, so all of that reading and education would do me absolutely no good.
People often discount this difference when blithely counseling others to learn how to do such and such.
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