There is a difference between lacking an answer and lacking a useful next question. Uncertainty does not always prevent progress. Sometimes it tells us where to look.
Say what kind
Are we missing information? Do we disagree about a mechanism? Or are we trying to predict a situation that is sensitive to events we cannot yet observe?
These are different problems. Treating them as one vague feeling makes them harder to work with.
Being precise about uncertainty is a form of clarity.
Keep the language honest
- Observed: what the evidence directly shows.
- Inferred: an explanation that fits the observations.
- Unresolved: a question that remains open.
A small distinction in language can keep a tentative explanation from quietly becoming an assumed fact.