The teacher who admits a question is unresolved gives uncertainty a legitimate seat in the room.

When a teacher says nobody knows, the room learns that not knowing is a legitimate state rather than a personal deficiency. It also shows that the subject is alive, with open questions in it, which is much more inviting than a finished body of facts. That admission does more for a student’s relationship to a field than most explanations.

Say it when it is true, in any room where you are the one who is supposed to know. It costs less authority than expected and buys a great deal of trust. And where you are learning, ask what is still unsettled, because that is where the interesting work is.