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Provisional Certainty — Frédéric Charbonneau | I’m Not Sure? (Building 21, McGill)
Read the article in English here: https://www.building21.ca/podcast-articles/provisional-certainty-frederic-charbonneau-im-not-sure
In this episode of "I’m Not Sure?", produced at Building 21 at McGill University, literary historian Frédéric Charbonneau reflects on a life shaped by curiosity and doubt.
From science to Chinese studies to French literature, Charbonneau explores how uncertainty guides research, how ideas of progress reshape our understanding of the past, and why history can never be fully known. Rather than seeking definitive answers, he argues for working with provisional certainty—embracing uncertainty as the condition that keeps thought alive.
About "I'm Not Sure"
Everyone's always talking about what we're sure of: certainties, predictions, facts.
Here at “I’m Not Sure”, we take a turn and ask: What are some things we aren’t so sure of? What do scientists, artists, practitioners, experts, and leaders wonder about? What are the questions and curiosities that guide us to explore the smallest particles, the farthest spaces, the deepest mysteries, and our closest relationships?
Co-hosted by: Ollivier Dyens & Isabella Chiaravallotti
Produced by: Alex Nicholas Chen
Music by: Christian Denis
Graphics by: Sophie Wu
Learn more: building21.ca
Conceived, conceptualised, and created in Montréal, QC 2025
View all episodes
By Building 21Read the article in English here: https://www.building21.ca/podcast-articles/provisional-certainty-frederic-charbonneau-im-not-sure
In this episode of "I’m Not Sure?", produced at Building 21 at McGill University, literary historian Frédéric Charbonneau reflects on a life shaped by curiosity and doubt.
From science to Chinese studies to French literature, Charbonneau explores how uncertainty guides research, how ideas of progress reshape our understanding of the past, and why history can never be fully known. Rather than seeking definitive answers, he argues for working with provisional certainty—embracing uncertainty as the condition that keeps thought alive.
About "I'm Not Sure"
Everyone's always talking about what we're sure of: certainties, predictions, facts.
Here at “I’m Not Sure”, we take a turn and ask: What are some things we aren’t so sure of? What do scientists, artists, practitioners, experts, and leaders wonder about? What are the questions and curiosities that guide us to explore the smallest particles, the farthest spaces, the deepest mysteries, and our closest relationships?
Co-hosted by: Ollivier Dyens & Isabella Chiaravallotti
Produced by: Alex Nicholas Chen
Music by: Christian Denis
Graphics by: Sophie Wu
Learn more: building21.ca
Conceived, conceptualised, and created in Montréal, QC 2025