Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence

In the 20th century, it was popularised by a British cosmologist named Martin Rees and an American astrophysicist named Carl Edward Sagan. This aphorism helps people appreciate that human-to-human interventions are not exclusively binary, that life is not either black or white, a vast array of shades of grey exists and must not be ignored in favour of arbitrary pronouncements.

Lauren McNamara, an American YouTuber known as Zinnia Jones puts it in a slightly philosophical but perhaps more confusing manner, “the absence of evidence of absence is not evidence of the absence of absence.” In simple terms, the logic of ascribing absolute proof to the absence of evidence is flawed. The fact that for now, we do not have the evidence to support the existence of something does not translate to conclusive proof that it does not exist. Even after devoting time to diligently searching, owing to their imperfection, progressive and forward-thinking people would always reserve a sliver of potential for new discoveries that might shatter strongly held views on the absence of evidence.