# Knowing and not knowing: meaning and business applications

Preserve unknowns and choose the checks that matter to the decision.

https://sakimyto.com/en/classics/analects/acknowledge-unknowns

## Source and summary

[The Analects · Wei Zheng 2.17](https://ctext.org/analects/wei-zheng/zh)

> 知之為知之，不知為不知，是知也。

The passage describes acknowledging knowledge and admitting what is not known.

## Editorial interpretation

Separate what you know from what you do not

Make decisions with explicit distinctions between facts, hypotheses and unknowns.

## Business application

When a proposal mixes verified figures with a team member’s predictions.

1. Label decision premises as facts, hypotheses or unknowns, with supporting evidence.
2. Investigate the unknown that could change the conclusion and make the rest of the decision conditional.

Deliverable: Premises with evidence status, adoption conditions and a trigger for reconsideration.

## Limits

Listing unknowns alone does not advance a decision. Set a deadline and the evidence needed to decide.

## Validation question

Can another reader tell which change in evidence would change the conclusion?

[The Analects: a guide to learning and reflection](https://sakimyto.com/en/classics/analects)

[This material](https://sakimyto.com/classics-data/entries/analects/acknowledge-unknowns.en.md)

Updated: 2026-10-13 · v1.0.0