On April 6, 2026, headlines read "NASA’s Artemis II Crew Eclipses Record for Farthest Human Spaceflight." Admittedly, the world has struggled to be excited about this latest "Moon mission" that did not return to the Moon.
About the same time, headlines also announced that the government will soon release all of its "UFO data." In my spare time, I momentarily pondered how those two headlines might present differing perspectives and thus require reconciliation.
There is an old saying, "you don't know what you don't know." Some credit that to Deming, but that, in effect, is Dunning-Krueger. Predispositions influence us in many daily activities and are worth your attention. Unseen Influence: Unconscious Predisposition in Dispute Resolution (2025).
Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld voiced a similar sentiment years ago, that many in the press found confounding.
"There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don't know we don't know."
Rumsfeld came pretty close there to simply saying we have a "Johari Window." Few who analyze problems focus on organizational tools like the Johari Window.
The Johari Window was developed by psychologists in the 1950s to afford organization to thoughts and analysis. What is "known" to you may or may not be known to others in any situation. And you always have to wonder about what others may similarly know, but you do not.
The two-axis window model allows you to strive to remember those potentials and to organize. Often putting thoughts in the squares, but also perhaps somewhere in a row or column. The tool is not a be-all, but a help.
For example, NASA "knows" that its Artemis craft flew farther from Earth than any previous flight. That is "known to (NASA's) self" and communicated as an irrefutable fact. Thus, one might assume it is "known to others."
Nonetheless, that is not what NASA reported. It says Artemis set the record for "Farthest Human Spaceflight." But what of the "alien abductions?" Literally millions of people claim to have been abducted. Any one of those might have been abducted to some point further from Earth than Artemis traveled, perhaps to Mars.
Even if one discounts the veracity of their abduction allegation, that person's belief that they have been taken to Mars is something they "know" but which the good folks at NASA "don't know." Thus, the Artemis fact might go in the upper left quadrant (what everyone knows) or might not. Nonetheless NASA would almost certainly put it in the left column.
That aliens abducted Horace Middlemier* and took him to Mars may similarly be known to Horace, but not to NASA ("Hidden Area" when viewed from Horace's perspective). Similarly, Horace's record-setting trip to Mars might fit in NASA's "Blind Spot" viewed from its perspective.
The point is that conclusions ("farthest") can be reached based on current information. The person reaching the conclusion is working primarily from their left-column, the "Open Area" and the "Hidden Area" that comprise what that person "knows."
In dealing with other people, one must accept that they could "know" things (their left column) that you do not (your right column). The primary thing to remember is that categorizing information into these columns is personal.
The second critical point is that, regardless of what you "know," that may not be empirically true (or demonstrable). NASA thinks it knows about all human space flight, but perhaps the government files that are to come contain further information, e.g., the Horace trip to Mars. Publication of the government files may move data from our personal right column into the left column somewhere.
Finally, and critically, what is "known" to anyone in the conversation will be subject to their personal beliefs and predispositions. While Horace "knows" he went to Mars, others might doubt his perspective, credibility, or even sanity. Even if he tells the story, that might not pull his Mars story from "Hidden" to "Open."
Before we make too much fun of Horace, consider that a fair number of people think all the photos of Earth are a big hoax. They contend the earth is flat, and will not listen to contrary evidence. What they "know" will influence their decisions, despite what you might believe is clearly "Open."
The challenge is thus magnified. Knowing you may doubt him, Horace may elect to keep the Mars trip forever in his "Hidden Area." As hard as you work to sell your perspective (Artemis is "furthest"), you may make no progress with Horace (or the "flat earthers").
You are fighting against what you do not know (Mars), and due to Horace's perceptions of your likely response, what you will never know. As a side note, even if you could never accept the Mars trip, knowing of his misperception or fantasy may still help you work to resolution through it or around it.
In any dispute, there will be perspective, competing facts, and a multitude of predispositions. See Unseen Influence. Striving to organize your thoughts into what is known and what is not, and the perspectives that drive that, may help to bring your analysis clarity.
Admitting that others may be actively or subconsciously keeping something hidden may likewise help you to understand resistance or conflict in their presence, despite not having the data to really understand their "why."
* Horace Middlemier is not a real person. He is a figment and foil. Any resemblance to any real person, living or dead, is merely coincidence.
