How do we know?
An evening around a table for three to ten people, adults and teenagers. Three questions about how anyone knows anything: what we see, what we remember, and where the gold in a ring was made. Each has a short activity, what is known, what is still argued, and cards to talk it through. Nobody needs to know the answers.
The first session, free
Session 1, Why do we miss what is in front of us?, is complete and free to print: a read-aloud opening, an activity with a secret visitor, what the experiments found and what is still argued, seven discussion cards and every source. About twenty-five minutes. No email, no account.
The print edition is set for low ink on A4 or US Letter. The phone edition is one column for reading at the table.
The evening
- Session 1 · Seeing · free
Why do we miss what is in front of us?
The count: a home version of the attention experiment, with a secret visitor.
- Session 2 · Remembering
Twelve words: a list read aloud, and a word nobody said.
- Session 3 · The gold
Put the evidence in order: four cards from one night in August 2017.
The whole evening, for supporters
Every exploration on Unknown Oceans is free, and stays free. If you would like to support the project, the Explorer Pack for this evening is included with a contribution of US$5 or more. Payment is needed for this download only.
- All three sessions, each with a read-aloud opening, an activity and what is known, argued and unknown
- 21 discussion cards to cut out, and four fold-over evidence cards for session 3
- A host guide that needs no expertise, with timings and a note on handling session 2 with care
- A connection map of the three questions and where each leads on the site
- Every source, with links and QR codes to the free explorations
- A low-ink print edition and a phone edition
Checkout and delivery are handled by Buy Me a Coffee. Both the print and phone PDFs are available to download after payment. Your one-time payment includes the full Explorer Pack and helps support Unknown Oceans. All website explorations remain free. For personal and household use. Edition 1, 24 September 2026.
What it is made of
Every fact in the session comes from the free explorations on this site, where each sentence is tied to its source and can be inspected claim by claim, and keeps their marks: known, uncertain, unknown, possible. The activities are home versions of real experiments, not experiments, and they say so.
The cover carries the Navigator, a fictional illustrated guide made with AI image generation. It is not a person or an expert. Found a mistake? Write to support@unknownoceans.com.