And though the path was long and uncertain, the thought of war in Europe is as inconceivable today as it seemed inevitable in the last century.
In "The Uncertain Art: Thoughts on a Life in Medicine," a delightful, companionable collection of occasional articles almost all of which appeared in The American Scholar magazine, Dr. Nuland feels free to follow his interests where they lead him — into medical history, etymology, even art criticism.
But always, the future is uncertain, and her thoughts are filled with apprehension.
Nevertheless, he was able to spell out in no uncertain terms his thoughts on returning to Nigeria: "I feel devastated.
Unhappy that I've had such thoughts, and uncertain what to do, I seek out the one person who's sure to understand; when I seize her arms and look into her eyes, I see the same melancholy, the same longing for something unknown; and as I burst into a dark, uneasy laugh, I hear, all over the room, like the cries of many animals, the sound of her own troubling laughter.
Questions stimulate thought, and honest thought leads not into more certainty, but rather to more acceptance regarding how uncertain everything really is.
When the core belief is that accusers never lie, if any one accuser has lied, it brings into question the stability of the entire thought system, rendering uncertain all allegations of sexual assault.
However, the uncertain connection between language and thought is not a one-way street (Allinson 1989: 11) and, in fact, the communicative potential of language was trapped on the narrow footbridge between speaker and hearer, between transmitter and receiver.
Seriously, I have a lot of things on my mind today, most of which concern stupid mistakes I have made in the past, and teeth-gnashingly worrisome thoughts about my uncertain but most likely dismal future.
Upon awakening each morning, my very first thought went to the uncertain future.
