Socioplastics 11903 The Hand Knows What the Certificate Cannot See
Institutions often ask for proof of competence through credentials they control. CredentialRescue identifies ways to make practical knowledge recognisable when the available certification system does not capture it. The issue concerns the route by which skill becomes admissible evidence. In a public building, safe construction requires standards; workers also develop capacities through experience that formal records may describe only partially. Michael Polanyi’s account of tacit knowledge shows how skilled action exceeds what can be exhaustively stated in rules. Paolo Virno examines general intellect and the capacities distributed through contemporary labour. Their work helps distinguish practical competence from its administrative representation. A credential can document training and still leave important forms of judgement unrecorded. A recognition process could combine observed work, references, a practical demonstration and a review of relevant learning. It would specify which standards apply and who assesses each kind of evidence. A worker might demonstrate repair techniques on a supervised task while explaining safety decisions and material choices. The process could record the assessor’s reasoning and identify further training where gaps appear. Periodic review can compare outcomes and reveal whether particular forms of practical knowledge remain under-recognised. CredentialRescue helps institutions evaluate competence through evidence suited to the work. Its purpose is to make practical knowledge visible and actionable while maintaining public accountability. A transparent process can widen recognition, clarify standards and protect the people affected by a service. The marker asks how a system can assess what a person knows through practice and how that evidence can enter decisions about work. Clear criteria and review procedures help ensure that recognition remains consistent across applicants and contexts.
REFERENCES
Polanyi, M. (1966) The Tacit Dimension. Garden City, NY: Doubleday.
Virno, P. (2004) A Grammar of the Multitude. Translated by I. Bertoletti, J. Cascaito and A. Casson. Los Angeles: Semiotext(e).
CITE AS
Lloveras, A. (2026) Socioplastics, LAPIEZA-LAB, Madrid.
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