Certainty Quote by Mokokoma Mokhonoana
““Insurance companies sell what might happen tomorrow. Historians sell what certainly happened yesterday.””
About This Quote
Source Essay: Business and History, 2020
Insurance predicts possible futures; historians record actual past events.
In simple terms: Insurance forecasts; historians document.
Key Takeaway
Recognize limits of prediction.
Themes
risk
history
prediction
Mood
analytical
critical
Type
philosophical
informative
When to use this quote
- financial planning
- academic research
- policy making
Key Concepts
probability
certainty
record keeping
Questions to Reflect On
- How reliable are forecasts?
- How does bias affect historical narratives?
A Different Perspective
Predictions can be inaccurate; history can be biased.
![“[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)
