Live coding involves tacit knowledge — knowing how that cannot be fully articulated — alongside explicit computational knowledge

Chapter 7 of the book explores what live coding knows, drawing on Michael Polanyi’s distinction between explicit knowledge and tacit knowledge (we know more than we can tell). Live coding brings computational knowledge into dialogue with tacit knowledge: sensuous knowledge modeled on experienced continuity of process; not-knowing (the value of trial and error); and techne (practical/tactical knowledge underpinned by kairotic intelligence). The accumulation of live coding skill happens through innumerable versions, iterations, tests, and attempts — experiential knowledge gained through the process of doing and undoing. This knowledge cannot be reduced to a manual or algorithm. The misconception: that live coding skill is purely explicit (learning syntax/functions). The reality: expert live coding involves embodied timing, aesthetic judgment, and error-reading that cannot be fully taught explicitly.

Examples

An expert live coder knows intuitively when a texture is getting stale and needs transformation, when an error sounds interesting vs. broken, and how long to dwell in a drone before shifting — none of which appears in any language documentation.

Assessment

Identify one aspect of live coding performance skill that is primarily tacit (hard to articulate or document). Explain what kind of practice develops that skill and why watching video recordings of performances would be insufficient on its own.