Factfulness
"There are known unknowns and unknown unknowns." Or, I wish I knew as much as I think I do.
Going off on a tangent
I know you’re excited to get back to learning how much money you need to retire. However, I’m taking a few weeks to go off on a tangent and present you with a series of helpful information posts that will aid you in your quest to live your best life. Is that acceptable? I trust it is.
How much do I really know?
We all like to think we are pretty intelligent, that we’re smart. And, we are, just in different ways. For example, I’m mechanically inclined. I can look at something mechanical, such as a car, airplane, lawnmower, or air conditioner, and in many cases, understand why it’s designed as it is. If something is not working correctly, I can often identify the issue and, in many cases, resolve it myself. On the other hand, I’m not a relationship person. Yes, I know, for those of you who know me, you are probably crushed to learn this. But my wife is a relationship person. I depend on her to help me with relationships, and she depends on me to fix things. When we are synced and working together, we can be a powerful team. As I like to say, “I know what I know.” But I also want to say, “I know what I don’t know.” In general terms, both of those statements are true. Not always, but mostly.
The knowns and unknowns
The quote above is attributed to Donald Rumsfeld, who was the Secretary of Defense under President George W. Bush. Secretary Rumsfeld was giving a news briefing on February 12, 2002, in the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq on March 20, 2003, where he was discussing the lack of hard evidence linking Iraq with weapons of mass destruction. He made the following statement in response to a question:
“Reports that say that something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns—the ones we don't know we don't know. And if one looks throughout the history of our country and other free countries, it is the latter category that tends to be the difficult ones.”
I distinctly remember this time period and this event. This particular comment by Secretary Rumsfeld has stuck with me for all these years because it is profound, and to me, it is essential for each of us to know what we know and what we don’t know. Out of this statement came what has been known as the Rumsfeld Matrix (Notes 1, 2):
Awareness–understanding matrix
Aware Not aware
Understand: Known knowns: Things we are aware of and understand Unknown knowns: Things we are not aware of but do understand or know implicitly
Don't understand: Known unknowns: Things we are aware of but don't understand Unknown unknowns: Things we are neither aware of nor understand
Closely aligned to this line of thinking is this quote by Mark Twain:
“It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.”
…and your point is?
…and my point is that each of us knows some things, and none of us knows everything. If you’ve ever been around someone who thinks they are always right, you know what I mean. If you’ve ever learned you were wrong or had to “eat crow,” you know what I mean. It’s always better to admit we don’t know something than claim we do only to be proven wrong and humiliated as a result. If we want to be successful in life, it pays to know what we know. For those things we don’t know but need to know, it pays to become educated. Why is that? Well, you know the answer already! So you can achieve your dreams and live your best life!
Factfulness
One of the reasons I like to travel is because I love to read and being captive on an airplane for a long time is a great time to catch up on one of the many books I own that are queued up just waiting to be read. On our recent trip to Europe, I had a lot of time to catch up on my reading, completing three books, two of them quite lengthy. One of those books is entitled Factfulness by Hans Rosling (Note 3). The theme of this book is essentially that it is a big world out there, a lot of good things are happening and we don’t always know about them and what we think we know is often wrong. Dr. Rosling proceeds to spend over 300 pages presenting facts and evidence of positive developments in the world that many of us are unaware of, and that we are simply wrong about. It’s this factfulness, or perhaps the lack of factfulness, that I want to spend a few moments on today, so we can have a better understanding of these points of what I know and what I don’t know and how it impacts our lives in either positive or negative ways.
As you know by now from reading these posts, the reason I spend time writing them, the reason I developed the course and the reason I wrote a book on the subject (in final editing now and due out in mid 2025!) is so that I can help others assess their current situation, then develop goals and achievement plans to they can…What? Achieve their dreams and live their best lives!
You also know from reading these posts that little of my material is original. I believe in learning from those who came before us. As I read and study a wide range of topics, I present a wealth of material from subject matter experts to you, my readers, for your benefit. Remember that 40 years ago, when I was trying to determine my own goals and path in life, I did not have anyone to help me or provide guidance, and I had to develop it on my own. And that’s what I spend a large part of my time on today.
My most recent read, as mentioned earlier, is the book "Factfulness." If you enjoy learning about the world around you, exploring and unlearning things, and generally expanding your knowledge, then this is a great book. I’ll tell you right up front, it’s a heavy read and full of data, figures, charts and graphs, and small print. You will be better off having read it. Let me give you one example of what Hans Rosling, a medical doctor, teaches us. Many people in positions of power and authority categorize the world into two main groups: developed and developing. That probably resonates with you, it does with me, and very quickly, you think of a few countries and instantly categorize them. Dr. Rosling proceeds to shake up this status quo and he recategorizes countries into one of four levels: Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, and Level 4. Level 1 countries are ones in extreme poverty, such as Afghanistan or Somalia. Level 4 countries are wealthy countries such as the United States, Japan, and Qatar.
Here is the theme of his book, one that he supports with data throughout. A two-category system is too simplistic to categorize a complex world. When used, we tend to think of a developing country as poor and stuck in poverty. Dr. Rosling then goes to prove that the Level 1-4 categorization is better because of the historical, proven improvement of the world in general over time. While life in Africa (a whole different conversation: Africa can’t be categorized as one place) may be difficult by Western standards, they are improving yearly and, on the whole, are far better now than times past. In many cases, improvements are being achieved at lightning speed. But we don’t hear these stories, do we? We just keep hearing how bad things are.
The point is this…
And that’s the point of this post today. Each of us, including myself, does not know as much as we think we do, and all of us can learn and improve our lives, the lives of our family, and those around us. Start by honestly assessing your current situation. If you feel you want more or believe you can do better, admit it. Then take action! If we take the time to recognize our lack of understanding and knowledge and seek the answers, they will magically appear. Have you heard the Buddhist saying, “When the student is ready, the teacher will come?” Perhaps that’s all you really need to know for today!
How nice, then, that this story aligns so well with the mission of Afterburner Success Partners, whose sole goal is to help others, like you, improve their lives. That’s all for this week!
What’s in it for Me
Knowing what we know and don’t know is the basis of making us better.
Call to Action
Assess your situation, your station in life. Are you satisfied with where you are and where you are going? If not, admit it and take action!
Recommended Resources
Buy and read the book, Factfulness by Hans Rosling. It’s full of facts that will make you better. It will also improve your outlook on life! Click on the link in note 3 to order your copy today!
Up Next
The power of habits.
Notes
Please note that as an Amazon Affiliate, I may earn a small commission on the sale of any of these recommended resources.
There are unknown unknowns: Wikipedia
The Decision Book Mikael Krogerus: https://amzn.to/4kRCZMI
Factfulness by Hans Rosling:https://amzn.to/3ZcNLEN