But the level of extremism in a society gives us some general idea about the level of certainty as well. I expect presidential candidates and their ardent supporters to be adamant that their way is the right way. And so, while I am tired of hearing them drone on in their certainty, I understand the rules. It's difficult to say. Therein lies one big problem with certainty.
People can be and are absolutely certain about things that are, in reality, largely unknowable.
While we might wish we knew the mind of God, for example, we cannot in this life ever really know it. Certainty differs in flavor only for those who can actually get enough information to approach it but who refuse to do so, as in the case of the city official and the lake. Some of the most knowledgeable people I know are reluctant to take a stand on much of anything. They've learned, as I have over the years, that there's just not much we really know for certain. I'm suspicious of those who are so positive in their convictions, and it sometimes appears that they really don't know enough to recognize how much they really don't know.