3 ms·
As you identify in the second paragraph, it is not true to say that “you don’t know what you don’t know.” There are indeed things that you do know that you don’
by lowbloodsugar 2y ago
As you identify in the second paragraph, it is not true to say that “you don’t know what you don’t know.” There are indeed things that you do know that you don’t know. I know I don’t know how to fly a plane.
Basically I am complaining that you choose to rephrase a perfectly good description of a problem (with a lot of history) into an incorrect statement.
So it would be more accurate to say that “there are some things that I don’t know that I don’t know.” However, “unknown unknowns” and “known unknowns” are more succinct. And, thanks to that idiot Rumsfeld, more commonly understood.
- talkingtab 2y agoI get what you are saying that it is more succinct. However the next statement "it is not true to say ..." confuses me. In fact there are many cases where I did not know that I did not know something important. I was cross country skiing across a frozen lake. The ice was 24 inches thick. I knew it was that thick. I did not know that where a lake narrows there can be current that prevents ice from forming. Moreover, I was unaware that there were major issues about frozen lakes that I was unaware of. I was not aware there was any risk and therefore came much to close to falling through the ice. Those little "crack crack crack" sounds stick with me. There have been other examples when I was unaware that I was ignorant of life threatening issues. My use of that phrase is perhaps particular to the fact that most of my realization of "unknown unknowns" has been when they are life threatening.