In the series premiere of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Commander Sisko discovers the Bajoran wormhole. It is the first known stable wormhole in the galaxy, setting up much of the exploration for the series.
However, powerful entities reside within it. To the people of Bajor, they are known as “The Prophets”—their gods. But there’s a catch: they do not understand linear time at all. Commander Sisko spends much of the episode explaining how the past, present, and future work. In the process, he ends up coming to terms with the tragic death of his wife.
During these exchanges, the “wormhole aliens” manifest through various actors on the station. Near the end of the episode, as the Prophets begin to grasp the concept of linear time, one of them asks Sisko incredulously, “You value your ignorance of what is to come?”
You knew I was going somewhere with this, didn’t you?
I don’t know that I would say we value our ignorance of future events, but it is deeply difficult for humans to prepare for uncertainty. By trying to anticipate and brace ourselves for every contingency, we are essentially trying to combat the inherent ignorance of what is to come. By definition, we don’t know how things are going to play out. We usually have a pretty good idea, but we never know exactly everything involved.
I wouldn’t say I’m a pessimist, but I do have a tendency to brace myself for the worst-case scenario whenever I’m dealing with an unknown variable. I think a big reason I do that is because if I prepare for a total catastrophe, anything less than that feels like a pleasant surprise. Ultimately, all we can really do when facing uncertainty is prepare for all possible outcomes and roll with the rest.
Take yesterday, for instance. Sunday I was making my way home from Madison after helping Kid 1 move into his new apartment. The drive was going swimmingly until I hit a near standstill on I-94 while voice-dictating this out on my iPhone.
What’s funny is that when I’m caught in one of these big traffic backups, I end up feeling a little bit like the Prophets—because I completely lose my concept of linear time while sitting there waiting. As far as I know, the jam could have lasted an hour (though it probably didn’t last more than fifteen minutes). But when you’ve been consistently cruising north of 80 miles an hour trying to make good time, coming to a sudden, grinding halt makes time itself feel like it’s screeching to a stop.
Uncertainty has a way of doing that to us. It forces us to hit the brakes on our carefully mapped-out timelines. Whether it’s sitting on a standstill freeway staring down a late evening pickup, or facing the high-stakes unknown of asking someone new out on a date for the first time—running through every permutation of “What if she says no? What if she says yes?”—we are constantly wrestling with variables we cannot control. You want to build up anticipation and construct a narrative for where things are heading, even if you laugh at yourself a little for doing it.
i picked up kid 2 on my way back into town from Madison. I was hoping to see Sierra this weekend, but I just wasn’t in the cards. That just means we’ll have to guarantee to see each other before she heads out of town next weekend herself.
Beyond that? I really don’t know what to expect going forward. We just navigate the crawl, lose our grip on the clock for a minute, and see what’s waiting on the other side.
Part of a series: Uncertainty isn’t just a strategic game; sometimes it’s an emotional shift. For a look at the other side of the unknown—how we react when the status quo we’re used to finally gives way—my companion piece My Own Undiscovered Country – is live now! 
Rebuilding a life takes grit, consistency, and a lot of ‘Option C’ thinking. Having crossed the 1,000-day milestone, I’m now charting the territory beyond. The mission remains the same: No glitz. Just the work. New to the blog? Start your journey here to see the blueprint and the ‘Tricorder’ perspective behind the rebuild.
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The article “everything I needed to know about uncertainty, I learned from Benjamin Sisko“ first appeared on Rebuilding Rob
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