“There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns—the ones we don’t know we don’t know.”16 These remarks were widely ridiculed—in part because of their controversial source—but as far as political statements go, they’re surprisingly accurate. In his autobiography, Known and Unknown, Rumsfeld acknowledges that he first heard the terms from NASA administrator William Graham.17 But Rumsfeld conspicuously omitted one category from his speech—unknown
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