Knowing the code of urban appearances does not equal skill in using that knowledge

Evidence

It is quite certain that he who has not learned how to code appearances, locations, and behavior will not have the skill to utilize these understandings in guiding his own actions. Even a highly skilled linguist cannot speak a language he has never learned. On the other hand, having the former does not guarantee the latter. Persons do vary in the extent to which they actually put into practice their acquired meanings and thus polish their skills. To try to operate in the city without either is undoubtedly to ask for trouble, but at least, for a time, the individual may be protected by his own ignorance regarding what he doesn’t know. On the other hand, to understand, without the skill to do, may be quite discomforting; on occasion, terrifying. — Lyn H. Lofland, World of Strangers_ Order and Action in…, 617

Categorization

• XREF: Parallels the distinction in game theory between knowing rules and having competence — and the reader’s interest in the observing self who knows the code but cannot deploy it.