The result looks more certain after the uncertainty disappears from its label.

Numbers lose their qualifications as they travel. A finding that began as a range, with conditions attached, gets summarised, then repeated, and by the third telling it is a flat statement that sounds settled. Nobody lied at any point; each step simply dropped what was hardest to carry. Confidence accumulates through retelling rather than through evidence.

When you hear a firm figure, ask where it came from and what it was originally hedged with. When you pass something on, carry the caveat with the number, even though it makes the sentence less satisfying.