Some time ago there was a spate of sniggering at the late, unlamented Donald "Rummy" Rumsfeld for speaking of unknown unknowns, known unknowns, and known knowns. I spoke in defense of Rummy at that time, suggesting only that he had left out the unknown knowns. I recently discovered that the estimable Geoff Pullum is on my side. His posting in Language Log not only defends Mr. Rumsfeld's statements but also mentions an old Persian apothegm that supplies the missing unknown knowns.

I heard a recording of that speech. I actually followed it (I think), but it sounded really really awkward.

As it is Ascension Day, a general free day for everyone, I hope you don't mind me using a moment to take the old Persian apothegm from your link Language Log out into the open:

Quote:
He who knows not, and knows not that he knows not, is a fool; shun him.
He who knows not, and knows that he knows not, can be taught; teach him.
He who knows, and knows not that he knows, is asleep; wake him.
He who knows, and knows that he knows, is a prophet; follow him.

As the prophet or saviour, whichever way you consider him ascended into the blue.

Umm, no, pretty much just you and the Pope (Vatican City but not Italy) and a few other countries. We don't get Koninginnedag (Queen's Day), either.
Here's a site where you can look up a country's national holidays: Holidays on qppstudio.net

Hmmm, pretty waving flags, all of them!

We are a very secularized nation, but we respect the prophet/saviour who managed to secure 9 free days a year for approx. two thousand years.
Ah,there still is 'St.Nicolas Day', this remnant of old Catholic tradition is good for half a free day. Yes we're spoiled.

Taking ancient text out of context and using it to avoid providing an answer is inexcusable. Public figures have an obligation to speak plainly when communicating with the public.

Maven, what are you referring to? What answer should be given?
You are refering to Rumsfeld? Could you be clearer?

Dunno about how it sounded but here it is transcribed:



Looks clear enough to me.

As for the Persian apothegm, I think they were a bit harsh on the owner of the unknown unknowns. As long as you know there are things you don't know that you don't know you're OK. It's when you don't know that you have unknown unknowns that you're in trouble.

it was a general free day in NYC too..
alternate side of the street parking was suspended for religious holiday.

(now if only the Hindu's and the Jains, and any number of other members of various religions would just get it together, and demand, (as christians and jews have done and muslims are beginning to), that their holiday should be a cause for suspension of alternate side of the street parking, the world (or at least my corner of it) would be a better place.

I LOVE organized religion.. there are about 20 days each year that have suspended alternate side of the street parking..

Now if we could just have time off (from being required to move our cars) to praise the cow, or fire, or any other diety....

Um...could you explain to me what suspended alternate side of the street parking has to do with religion? Any religion?

I think BranShea's country got the whole day off, not just freedom for the people who park on the street from re-parking their cars. According to the 2000 Census, 42% of NYers don't even own a car.

2007 Calendar shows 34 days including 1 Hindu (Diwali), 2 Muslim, and "Asian Lunar New Year". Only 7 of those are "major" holidays. The legal-ese rules above it seem to say it's also Sundays unless there's a sign hidden somewhere on the block. If only you could Shabbat's and the month of Ramadan, ...

Sorry, yes, I was referring to Rumsfeld. He's makes lots of noises, but content is lacking.

Ahah! This is a typical case of 'unknown unknowns' to me. If I had to keep a car in one of the U.S. big cities I wouldn't be that happy. Not having a car gives me 365 free days of the parking kind a year.Here as well. Now I really am spoiled.
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New York City is quite exceptional. In that same census data, there is only 1 other city where the carless percentage is over 16% - 30% in Jersey City which is just across the river from NYC. In most American cities, over 89% of households do own at least one car. Most cities are "designed" on the assumption that you own a car. Most people would be very unhappy not to have a car.

I wonder what the figure is for Boston. I lived there for a couple of years, 1970±1 year and it is relatively unfriendly to automobile traffic. That doesn't mean that there aren't a lot of people that have cars, but it certainly wasn't designed with cars in mind, their being some couple of hundred years in the future at the time the various elements that are now the greater metropolitan Boston area were conceived.

Jackie, i presume by now, you have caught on--In NYC, alternate side of the street parking requires you to move your car, (so city street sweepers can clean it.

this manditory PITA is suspended for religous holidays. (mostly christian and jewish holiday, because these religions represent a large percent of population, and are organized enough (and middle class enough to be part of the car owning/driving population) to get rules and regulation passed so that their holidays are exempt.

as for cars, it hard to make statements about cars citywide.

manhattan has the lowest car population of all the boroughs, staten island, (though the smallest in population) has the hightest percentage. Queens has a pretty high percentage of car owners.. (it the big "bedroom" borough of NYC-) phyically the largest (in land mass) is has a huge percentage that is not served by the subway, (and even bus service ends at midnight in may places) for the most part the subways end at 164street or so (of 250 to 275 numbers streets. (the border is a jagged line)

that a pretty bigh chunk of the borough that doesn't have as many choices when it come to mass transit.

Im sure your streets will be cleaner than ours. Sounds like a good system to me.

Bran, i wish that were true (that our streets are cleaner than yours)

there are many ways to treat public space. Some see public space as part of the commonweal, and care for it.
others see it as 'wasted' (not producing income, valueless) and are careless.

a small percentag of litterers can leave, in there wake, a good deal of garbage. i live 1 block from a large commercial area. (there exists 1 large block of shops in a 2 storey structure, and another multi level block of shops is being built.)

there are street vendors too, (fruits and vegitable vendors, an other vendor of food (hot dogs, soda & snack, an ice cream truck, newpaper vendors.. and others) and there are many visitors to the stores from other areas who have little (or no) interest in good civic behavior. they have no sense of 'owning' public spaces, no sense of pride of place, (and they don't feel this neighborhood that they come to shop in, is their place either)

its been shown, once a certain level of 'dis array' is reached, even normally civil people become litterbugs.. (they feel their napkin, or food wrapper is not significant in the general collection of debree to found.) some days the streets and sidewalks are quite messy!

For me, the problem with Rumsfeld's talk was never semantic. From, say, Chomsky, in a discussion of the philosophy of mind, then fine. But if it's the Secretary of Defense, and what he "knows they don't know" is that Iraq has WMDs (which it didn't), and that's put forward as a reason for going to war, I think there is cause for serious concern.

As Twain said, “It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so.”

So, illusions come and illusions go.