What's It Like? | Folding Thoughts

Phase 1 of 4

Choose Your Experience

You're about to experience something. No context. No explanation. Just experience.

⚠️

Turn on sound. Find a quiet space. This works best with headphones.

Choose your experience:

🌧️

Experience A

(No labels — discovery is part of the experience)

🌈

Experience B

(No labels — discovery is part of the experience)

👑

Experience C

(No labels — discovery is part of the experience)

Phase 2 of 4

Capture the Experience

What did you just experience?

Try to describe it in words:

0 / 500

Rate how well your description captures the actual experience:

Not at all Partially Perfectly

Phase 3 of 4

The Translation Problem

Now, read your description again:

[Your description will appear here]

Can someone who's NEVER heard this music know what you experienced by reading this?

Yes — my description captures it Partially — they'll get some idea No — they have to experience it themselves

This is the problem of EXPERIENTIAL KNOWLEDGE.

"Art appeals to our capacity for delight, wonder, and the sense of mystery... not to our wisdom."

— Joseph Conrad, writer

Some knowledge cannot be translated into propositionsStatements that can be true or false; knowledge expressed in words and concepts. It must be LIVED.

Phase 4 of 4

Reflection: The Knowledge Question

Knowledge Question

To what extent can knowledge gained through or EMOTIONAL experience be considered as VALID as knowledge gained through REASON or EMPIRICAL OBSERVATION?

Your Experience:

Musical experience (Arts) — Felt real but couldn't fully describe
Your description captured only 50% of the actual experience
Someone who hasn't experienced it can/cannot fully understand from your words

Experiential knowledge isn't unique to the arts.

It appears in other knowledge areas too:

Mathematics: Mathematicians describe "beautiful proofs" and "elegant solutions." Is this aesthetic experience, or logical understanding?
History: Historians reading primary sources often describe "feeling transported" to the past. Is this empathetic immersionThe feeling of deeply connecting with and understanding another person's experience a form of experiential knowledge?
Natural Sciences: Scientists report "intuitive leaps" and moments of insight that feel experiential before they can be proven empirically.

What's your position?

Is experiential knowledge as valid as propositional knowledge?

Only propositional = valid Both equally valid Experiential = valid

Why?

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📊 Other users' positions:

42%: Both equally valid
31%: Experiential valid but not "shareable"
27%: Only propositional is true knowledge

Return to Folding Thoughts

🎭 What's It Like?

Choose Your Experience

Choose your experience:

Capture the Experience

Try to describe it in words:

Rate how well your description captures the actual experience:

The Translation Problem

Now, read your description again:

Can someone who's NEVER heard this music know what you experienced by reading this?

This is the problem of EXPERIENTIAL KNOWLEDGE.

Reflection: The Knowledge Question

Your Experience:

Experiential knowledge isn't unique to the arts.

What's your position?

Why?

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