[The communication of uncertainty: the lessons of Ebola and the tsunami]

An enlightening article, recently published in the New England Journal, mentions the natural disasters and the epidemic of Ebola to discuss the importance and the difficulty of the communication of uncertainty. History shows how difficult it is to make a prognostic (and being understood). The story of the tsunami is similar, it explains the fear and the difficulty to communicate forecasted events which by nature have a certain level of probability and are not a certainty. In this article, we take the opportunity to reflect on the changing of our paradigms."How can we trust you, if your opinions are always changing?" says the author, underlining how this aspect of science is not intuitive.In a time in which our work is changing, early dialysis is replaced by intent to delay, palliation intensifies along with the pride of being able to start renal replacement therapy at any age, pregnancy is made possible on dialysis, the so-called conservative therapy is rediscovered. This work can make us wonder about the fragility of dogmas and can make us reflect on the importance of communication, in a balance between answering to our patients and admitting that, often, we are the first ones not to have all the answers.