We explain what uncertainty is and its consequences on the human being. In addition, the origin of the term and its meanings.
What is uncertainty?
Uncertainty is the lack of certainty, that is, of certainty, of secure knowledge on a given subject. In other words, uncertainty is the inability to predict a future event or get an idea of what is going to happen, or also the inability to determine if something really happened the way you think.
The word uncertainty comes from the Latin uncertainty, composed of the voices in- (a negation prefix), certificate (“true”) and -your D (a usual quality suffix). Therefore, uncertainty can be perfectly understood as the quality of that which is uncertain, that is, that we cannot determine with certainty.
In general, the human being does not deal well with uncertainty and the latter is usually a reason for a certain degree of anguish, apprehension and tension on our part, if not for more serious defensive reactions.
In fact, uncertainty is usually combated through projections and premonitions of all kinds, and it is usually among those responsible for moments of crisis in societies: those in which people have many doubts about the immediate future. Uncertainty is associated with feelings of fragility, danger or loss
Specific uses of the term
It is possible to find the term uncertainty in technical or specialized contexts, always referring to situations in which it is impossible to make predictions with a high degree of accuracy. probability, or determine certain conditions very precision. For example:
- There is talk of uncertainty in the field of finance and risk, to refer to the impossibility of part of the Business to guarantee the return of a investment specific, so the risk of losing money becomes more latent. In these cases, companies usually protect themselves in advance by introducing conditions for the investment or by trying to minimize the possible loss.
- In the scientific field, it is common to speak of uncertainty to refer to the margin of error in the measurements or in the predictions made. For example, Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle is often mentioned, according to which it is impossible to accurately determine two observable and complementary physical quantities at the same time, such as the position and the linear movement of an object. Thus, we must either know the one, or know the other.
- In economy, we speak of Knightian uncertainty (in recognition of the American economist Frank Knight) when there is a risk that is neither measurable nor computable within an economic system.