<P> In the field of knowledge management, the concept of tacit knowledge refers to a knowledge which cannot be fully codified . Therefore, an individual can acquire tacit knowledge without language . Apprentices, for example, work with their mentors and learn craftsmanship not through language but by observation, imitation, and practice . </P> <P> The key to acquiring tacit knowledge is experience . Without some form of shared experience, it is extremely difficult for people to share each other's thinking processes </P> <P> Tacit knowledge has been described as "know - how"--as opposed to "know - that" (facts). This distinction is usually taken to date back to a paper by Gilbert Ryle, given to the Aristotelian society in London in 1945 . In this paper Ryle argues against the (intellectualist) position that all knowledge is knowledge of propositions ("know - that"), and the view that some knowledge can only be defined as "know - how" has therefore, in some contexts, come to be called "anti-intellectualist". There are further distinctions: "know - why" (science), or "know - who" (networking). Tacit knowledge involves learning and skill but not in a way that can be written down . On this account knowing - how or embodied knowledge is characteristic of the expert, who acts, makes judgments, and so forth without explicitly reflecting on the principles or rules involved . The expert works without having a theory of his or her work; he or she just performs skillfully without deliberation or focused attention . Embodied knowledge represents a learned capability of a human body's nervous and endocrine systems (Sensky 2002). </P> <P> Tacit knowledge vs. explicit knowledge: although it is possible to distinguish conceptually between explicit and tacit knowledge, they are not separate and discrete in practice . The interaction between these two modes of knowing is vital for the creation of new knowledge . </P>

Which of the following is a characteristic of tacit knowledge