Certainty Quote by John Banville
“There are times, they occur with increasing frequency nowadays, when I seem to know nothing, when everything I know seems to have fallen out of my mind like a shower of rain, and I am gripped for a moment in paralysed dismay, waiting for it all to come back but with no certainty that it will.”
About This Quote
Source Novel: The Sea, 2005
Moments of mental blankness feel overwhelming, leaving uncertainty about regaining clarity.
In simple terms: Sudden confusion creates anxiety.
Key Takeaway
Accept uncertainty, seek grounding.
Themes
anxiety
memory loss
uncertainty
Mood
melancholic
contemplative
Type
literary
psychological
When to use this quote
- exam preparation
- public speaking
- creative blocks
Key Concepts
existentialism
psychology
Questions to Reflect On
- What triggers your mental blanks?
- How do you restore focus?
A Different Perspective
Recovery may require external support or time.
![“... [a] girl one day flared out and told the principal "the only mission opening before a girl in his school was to marry one of those candidates [for the ministry]." He said he didn't know but it was. And when at last that same girl announced her desire and intention to go to college it was…” quote by Anna Julia Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/8bd/anna-julia-cooper-14164_arcs_a-girl-one-day-flared-out-and-told-the-p_594696.jpg)
![“[I]f in other sciences we should arrive at certainty without doubt and truth without error, it behooves us to place the foundations of knowledge in mathematics, in so far as disposed through it we are able to reach certainty in other sciences and truth by the exclusion of error.” quote by Roger Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d13/roger-bacon-15067_able_i-f-in-other-sciences-we-should-arrive-a_24209.jpg)