I can live with doubt, and uncertainty, and not knowing. I think it's much more interesting to live not knowing than to have answers which might be wrong. I have approximate answers, and possible beliefs, and different degrees of certainty about different things, but I'm not absolutely sure of anything, and in many things I don't know anything about, such as whether it means anything to ask why we're here, and what the question might mean. I might think about a little, but if I can't figure it out, then I go to something else. But I don't have to know an answer. I don't feel frightened by not knowing things, by being lost in a mysterious universe without having any purpose, which is the way it really is, as far as I can tell, possibly. It doesn't frighten me.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Living with uncertainty is more interesting and less frightening than pretending to know everything.
- In plain terms
- It is better to admit you do not know.
- What can you take from it?
- Embrace the mystery of the unknown.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What is your view on purpose?
- How do you handle doubt?
Another view
Some people find certainty necessary for mental stability.
More from Richard Feynman
The fact that you are not sure means that it is possible that there is another way someday.
Permalink to quote #55 Science is a way of trying not to fool yourself. The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool.
Permalink to quote #57 Looking back at the worst times, it always seems that they were times in which there were people who believed with absolute faith and absolute dogmatism in som…
Permalink to quote #54
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