The Known Knowns, The Known Unknowns and The Unknown Unknowns
Confusing? Well, I thought so too. If the above doesn’t make sense to you, do continue reading! If the above does make sense to you, still have a go at it. You may end up reducing your unknown unknowns by 0.01%!
Wondering why I would bring up such a cryptic phrase? As a global child, adapting and learning from my surroundings was something I had to do every single day. However, there came one instance in my life when I lost the will to learn and hit rock bottom. That moment became a pivotal turning point for me, leading to a head-first dive into pursuing a master’s to rekindle my love for learning. During my coursework, I had to study a gripping module titled Understanding Influence of Consumers, the content of which would go on to hit home.
In our first session, we were introduced to the intriguing concept of the illusion of knowledge! Our professor built on this foundation with a simple and unassuming phrase — ‘The Known Knowns, The Known Unknowns and The Unknown Unknowns’. For me, my immediate reaction was one of curiosity and confusion, but the solution was simple. The phrase dealt with dual perspectives — our views and blind spots. Our views are shaped through what we know as facts, or what we may have an inkling of — forming The Known quadrants: The Known Knowns and The Known Unknowns. Our blindspots, however, are variables that affect our lives — whether they’re past events or may occur in the future. These can also be events that are taking place right now while you’re reading this. These events happen without our knowledge, and for us, become ‘The Unknown Unknowns’ in our lives.
Allow me to break it down!
The Known Knowns
‘Known Knowns’ simply mean anything in our life that we are aware of and understand. For instance, every day when I pack my lunch or carry my charger, I’m preparing for events I know can happen — going hungry or having my laptop go dead. These matters keep increasing in our lives by a minute percent when a certain unknown affair has become known to us.
The Known Unknowns
The confounding, Known Unknowns, are things that we are aware of but don’t understand, for instance, The Covid-19 Pandemic! The whole world went through a turmoil when coronavirus struck and dominated everyone’s lives in 2020. Every few days, we heard about a new variant with different symptoms or a state-of-the-art vaccination to the rescue. These were some unknowns that we constantly acknowledged and converted into a known part of our lives by staying up-to-date while taking necessary precautions against the virus.
The Unknown Unknowns
Some things in our life can never be predicted! We don’t know when, why or how they will happen nor will we know what it could be about. These are things that we are neither aware of nor understand. However, when we come across these unknown unknowns, we build a certain understanding about them and have the choice to increase our known quadrants. COVID-19 was one such unknown occurrence amongst everyone, but within a few weeks, it was a part of everyone’s known quadrants.
After understanding the gravity behind the illusion of knowledge, I kept an open mind to learn every day again. As my master’s was almost ending, I still hadn’t found a place to work, which complimented my career goals but served the purpose of being the workplace I needed (aka the unknown factor). Staying receptive, I knocked on the doors of The Mavericks. Since then, I haven’t looked back. My journey at The Mavericks is about to touch a year and I can proudly say that from time to time, I reduce a tiny percentage of my unknowns by uncovering a blindspot and converting them into a pristine perspective.
Lastly, if you are under the illusion of being knowledgeable, you’re mistaken. If you are under the illusion of having no knowledge at all, you’re still mistaken. There’s never a scale or a way to tell how much knowledge one possesses. Ergo, keep an open mind, learn from what you might come across and sail towards unravelling any unknowns in your life!
