known unknowns
Recognized knowledge gaps
Known unknowns are gaps in knowledge you're aware of—things you know you don't know.
The phrase gained currency after Donald Rumsfeld used it in a 2002 press briefing about military intelligence: We need to identify the known unknowns before we proceed.
It contrasts with unknown unknowns (risks you haven't even imagined) and implies that recognizing what you don't know is itself valuable.
Possibility of harm
- probabilityQuantified chance of occurrence
- contingencyUncertain possible event
- indeterminacyLack of fixed outcome
- ambiguityOpenness to multiple interpretations
unpredictability · variability · volatility · imprecision · speculation · conjecture · doubt · tentativeness
Request for information
- mysterySomething unexplained or unknown
- puzzleChallenge testing ingenuity
- problemMatter requiring resolution
- challengeTest of ability
research · exploration · hypothesis · investigation · analysis · gap · variable · assumption
Perceived as familiar
- identifiedDetermined the identity of
- consciousMentally present and alert
- cognizantConscious of facts
- mindfulConsciously attentive
alert · informed · apprised · privy · enlightened · perceptive · attentive · observant
Relating to knowledge
- metacognitionAwareness of own reasoning
- epistemologicalRelating to knowledge theory
- philosophyStudy of fundamental truths
- inquiryRequest for information
limitation · evidence · curiosity · learnable · researchable · taxonomy · investigation · rationale
risk
Possibility of harm
- probabilityQuantified chance of occurrence
- contingencyUncertain possible event
- indeterminacyLack of fixed outcome
ambiguity · unpredictability · variability · volatility · imprecision · speculation · conjecture · doubt · tentativeness · chance
question
Request for information
- mysterySomething unexplained or unknown
- puzzleChallenge testing ingenuity
- problemMatter requiring resolution
challenge · research · exploration · hypothesis · investigation · analysis · gap · variable · assumption · estimation
recognized
Perceived as familiar
- identifiedDetermined the identity of
- consciousMentally present and alert
- cognizantConscious of facts
mindful · alert · informed · apprised · privy · enlightened · perceptive · attentive · observant · clued-in
epistemic
Relating to knowledge
- metacognitionAwareness of own reasoning
- epistemologicalRelating to knowledge theory
- philosophyStudy of fundamental truths
inquiry · limitation · evidence · curiosity · learnable · researchable · taxonomy · investigation · rationale
known unknownsknown knowns
Facts consciously possessed
certainties · common knowledge · givens · axioms · self-evident truths
known, unknowns, know, unknown, knows, knowing, knowable, unknowable, knowledge