Thinking About Not-Knowing: Misnaming The Beasts

This salon is part of his InterIntellect series and broader project on not-knowing.

Many situations of not-knowing are called “risk” (even when they aren’t). The cynical view is that this is to make them seem more knowable and manageable than they really are. The emerging kerfuffle around Silicon Valley Bank (“poor risk management!”) is just one example of what happens when we misname the type of not-knowing we face.

This salon will discuss the differences between some of the most common types of not-knowing that are all casually called “risk,” and think through why they are important to distinguish from each other.

Recommended Reading: 

The pre-reading for this salon is a piece titled “How to think more clearly about risk.”