Eksperienca

Eksperienca is the knowledge or practical wisdom gained through direct involvement in events, activities, or situations. It includes skills, know-how, and judgment developed in real-world contexts. Experiences can be tacit—difficult to articulate from memory or feeling—or explicit, described in words or manuals. They accumulate over time and can influence decisions, perception, and behavior.

Etymology and usage: The term derives from Latin experientia and has cognates in many languages, including English experience and French expérience. It broadly covers the process of learning by doing, reflecting on what happened, and applying lessons to new situations. The scope ranges from everyday life experiences to professional practice, travel, or cultural engagement.

Types and related concepts: Practical experience versus theoretical knowledge is a common distinction in education and philosophy. Experiential knowledge, often linked to tacit knowledge as described by Michael Polanyi, is knowledge gained by doing and personal insight rather than formal instruction. Lived experience refers to the subjective awareness of a person’s life events. Experiential learning and experiential education emphasize structured reflection on activities to produce growth and understanding, as proposed by scholars such as Kolb.

Applications and evaluation: In hiring and careers, experience is a common criterion, typically measured by tenure, the range of tasks performed, or outcomes achieved. In cognitive science, experience shapes memory, learning, and decision making, with episodic memory playing a key role. In research, experience informs biases and perspectives but does not replace systematic evidence.