--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I hope there isn't,' [a final answer]…" description: "\"“I hope there isn't,' [a final answer] said Colin. \"I'm for uncertainty. As soon as you think you know, you're done for. You don't listen and you can't..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/818/alan-garner-16067_possibility_i-hope-there-isn-t-a-final-answer-said-c_2322272.png" --- # I hope there isn't,' \[a final answer\] said Colin. "I'm for… ![“I hope there isn't,' [a final answer] said Colin. "I'm for uncertainty. As soon as you think you know, you're done for. You don't listen and you can't hear. If you're certain of anything, you shut the door on the possibility of revelation, of discovery. You can think. You can believe. But you…” quote by Alan Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/818/alan-garner-16067_possibility_i-hope-there-isn-t-a-final-answer-said-c_2322272.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/818/alan-garner-16067_possibility_i-hope-there-isn-t-a-final-answer-said-c_2322272.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/818/alan-garner-16067_possibility_i-hope-there-isn-t-a-final-answer-said-c_2322272.png) > ““I hope there isn't,' \[a final answer\] said Colin. "I'm for uncertainty. As soon as you think you know, you're done for. You don't listen and you can't hear. If you're certain of anything, you shut the door on the possibility of revelation, of discovery. You can think. You can believe. But you can't, you mustn't, 'know'. There's the real Entropy.”” [Alan Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-garner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Uncertainty is valuable; claiming certainty closes off new ideas and discoveries, so embrace not and ongoing questioning. **In simple terms:** Being sure blocks learning; stay open to uncertainty. Key Takeaway Accept uncertainty to stay receptive to new insights. Themes uncertainty knowledge open‑mindedness discovery intellectual humility Mood thoughtful inquisitive balanced Type philosophical motivational reflective When to use this quote - scientific research - creative brainstorming - personal growth - decision making - education Key Concepts entropy epistemology critical thinking cognitive flexibility Questions to Reflect On - What benefits arise from questioning what you think you know? - How can you balance confidence with openness to new information? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on uncertainty can lead to indecision or paralysis. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Colin Uncertainty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/colin-uncertainty-5556216/) [Possibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possibility/) [Possibility Revelation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possibility-revelation-5556217/) [Uncertainty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uncertainty/) [Uncertainty Soon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uncertainty-soon-2084753/) ## Related quotes > ['Almost' is about uncertainty soon to be dismissed but not quite dispelled. 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It means fear is no longer a dominant factor in what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/as-you-become-comfortable-with-uncertainty-infinite-possibilities/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [The superpowers often behave like two heavily armed blind men feeling their way around a room, each believing himself in mortal peril from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-superpowers-often-behave-like-two-heavily-armed-blind-men-feeling/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Uncertainty will always be part of the taking charge process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/uncertainty-will-always-be-part-of-the-taking-charge-process/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Uncertainty that comes from knowledge (knowing what you don't know) is different from uncertainty coming from ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/uncertainty-that-comes-from-knowledge-knowing-what-you-don-t-know-is/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [We don't always know the details of our future. 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And biomass gets to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-garner/i-loathe-crowds-i-especially-don-t-like-cities-a-city-involves/) [Alan Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-garner/) > [If you are going to write, nothing will stop you, and if you are not going to write, nothing will make you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-garner/if-you-are-going-to-write-nothing-will-stop-you-and-if-you-are-not/) [Alan Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-garner/) > [My background is deep and set in deep time, and in a narrow space, oral traditions going back a long, long time, which I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-garner/my-background-is-deep-and-set-in-deep-time-and-in-a-narrow-space-oral/) [Alan Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-garner/) > [I've learned never to try and force words to come.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-garner/i-ve-learned-never-to-try-and-force-words-to-come/) [Alan Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-garner/) > [My primary tongue, I would call North-West Mercian.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-garner/my-primary-tongue-i-would-call-north-west-mercian/) [Alan Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-garner/) > [It's where I keep all my things. 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Maybe one day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-garner/i-wish-monkeys-could-skype-maybe-one-day/) [Alan Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-garner/) > [I don't think I've ever frightened myself before when writing, but there were areas where there was terror, as though I was looking into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-garner/i-don-t-think-i-ve-ever-frightened-myself-before-when-writing-but/) [Alan Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-garner/) > [Ive learned never to try and force words to come.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-garner/ive-learned-never-to-try-and-force-words-to-come/) [Alan Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-garner/) > [My attitude is that if anybody of any age wants to read a book, let them, but I do think that no child would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-garner/my-attitude-is-that-if-anybody-of-any-age-wants-to-read-a-book-let/) [Alan Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-garner/) [Explore all 41 Alan Garner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-garner/) ## More Possibility quotes > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. 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I became…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-barker/i-m-a-vegetarian-i-think-there-s-a-strong-possibility-had-i-not/) [Bob Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-barker/) > [I think that most of us, anyway, read these stories that we know are not "true" because we're hungry for another kind of truth:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-think-that-most-of-us-anyway-read-these-stories-that-we-know-are/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [If you take text and image and you put them together, the multiple readings that are possible in either poetry or in something visual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-hell/if-you-take-text-and-image-and-you-put-them-together-the-multiple/) [Richard Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-hell/) > [It's still possible to savor the remarkable foods that millennia of human ingenuity have teased from milk. A sip of milk itself or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-mcgee/it-s-still-possible-to-savor-the-remarkable-foods-that-millennia-of/) [Harold McGee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-mcgee/) > [If you allow for the possibilities of something better, you move toward it instinctively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-j-fox/if-you-allow-for-the-possibilities-of-something-better-you-move/) [Michael J. 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