When a lesson feels clear but is not yet learned

An explanation can feel easy to follow while it is in front of you. The words are familiar, the example makes sense, and each step seems obvious after you read it. Later, without the explanation, you may struggle to answer a related question.

This gap reflects a useful distinction between familiarity, current performance, and learning. Familiarity is the feeling that something has been encountered before. Performance is what you can do under the present conditions. Learning concerns changes that support knowledge or skill beyond that immediate moment.

These experiences can overlap. The problem is treating one as complete evidence of another.