known unknown
Recognized gap exists
A known unknown is something you're aware you don't understand or have information about—a gap in knowledge that has been identified but not filled.
The term gained prominence from a 2002 Donald Rumsfeld press briefing distinguishing it from "unknown unknowns" (things we don't even know we don't know).
In project management and risk assessment, known unknowns represent anticipated uncertainties that can be planned for, even if their outcomes remain unclear.
We budgeted extra time for known unknowns like permit delays.
Request for information
- mysterySomething unexplained or unknown
- enigmaSomething hard to fathom
- puzzleChallenge testing ingenuity
- researchSystematic fact-finding effort
exploration · discovery · investigation · inquiry · curiosity · probing · gap analysis · hypothesis
- epistemologyTheory of knowledge
- metacognitionAwareness of own reasoning
- epistemic humilityAwareness of one's ignorance
- blind spotArea of blocked perception
ignorance · intellectual humility · uncertainty principle · risk assessment · strategic planning · intelligence analysis · decision theory
State of being unsure
- probabilityQuantified chance of occurrence
- contingencyUncertain possible event
- unpredictableCannot be anticipated
- variableProne to fluctuation
imponderable · risk factor · contingency planning · forecasting · projection · estimation · speculation · hedging
Perceiving something as known
- realizationGrasping what's true
- insightDeep perceptive understanding
- consciousnessState of sentient awareness
- self-awarenessInsight into one's psyche
question
Request for information
- mysterySomething unexplained or unknown
- enigmaSomething hard to fathom
- puzzleChallenge testing ingenuity
research · exploration · discovery · investigation · inquiry · curiosity · probing · gap analysis · hypothesis · open question
Rumsfeld
- epistemologyTheory of knowledge
- metacognitionAwareness of own reasoning
- epistemic humilityAwareness of one's ignorance
blind spot · ignorance · intellectual humility · uncertainty principle · risk assessment · strategic planning · intelligence analysis · decision theory
uncertainty
State of being unsure
- probabilityQuantified chance of occurrence
- contingencyUncertain possible event
- unpredictableCannot be anticipated
variable · imponderable · risk factor · contingency planning · forecasting · projection · estimation · speculation · hedging
recognition
Perceiving something as known
- realizationGrasping what's true
- insightDeep perceptive understanding
- consciousnessState of sentient awareness
- oppositesopposite, opposites, antonym, antonyms, inverse
- oxymoronsbittersweet, deafening silence, pretty ugly, living dead, act naturally
known unknownunknown unknown
Unrecognized gap in knowledge
blind spot · certainty · tacit knowledge · willful blindness · common knowledge
known unknownunknown unknown
Unrecognized gap in knowledge
certainty · sure thing · black swan · omniscience · calculated risk
known, unknown, know, knows, knowing, knowingly, unknowingly, knowledge, knowledgeable