Beth says "nearly there." The sat nav says 14 minutes.

For most people, this is a perfectly normal exchange. For Patrick, it's an unresolved ambiguity. Nearly there geographically? Temporally? Or is there some unstated confidence interval he hasn't been briefed on?

The sat nav knows exactly how far it is. Beth knows approximately how far it is. Patrick needs to know which kind of knowing they're doing.

The Actuarial Pedantry series explores the domestic consequences of a brain that cannot switch off. Previous entries: #5 Define Everyone.

Previous cartoons: #1 Record Investment | #2 Y-Axis Trick | #3 Prompt Engineering | #4 Transparency Request | #5 Define Everyone | #6 Long-Term Assumption | #7 Excel Relapse | #8 Holiday Risk Assessment | #9 Confident Nonsense