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Thursday, July 16, 2015

The Virtue of Uncertainty



Something on my mind lately is the virtue of uncertainty. I worked for Rummy during his second tour as SECDEF. We had a complicated relationship, but in the end, he still signed off on my Joint Service Award. 

The simple Venn diagram above illustrates the conceit of his famous quote: some stuff we think we know with certainty is actually--gasp!--dead wrong! 

Life is random. Our powers of perception are limited and inconsistent. Though the quest for truth is noble, it is okay, even wise, too be unsure about what we "really" know. It's brave to move forward in the face of such uncertainty. A lack of arrogance is not a lack of confidence. 

As my Pastor, Rev. Amber Neuroth says, we need a Commitment to Uncertainty. It's OK to question everything, so long as we keep moving.

To paraphrase the World's Most Interesting Man, "Stay (intellectually) thirsty, my friends."

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