Learn English – “I, for one, don’t know “

expressionsphrases

I am curious about the precise meaning of for one in the expression "I, for one, don't know."

This came up in a discussion about the amount of social efforts society should be willing to put in reducing CO2 emissions. In essence, my interlocutor said something like

" given the limited precision of complex climate models, the uncertainties about future technological progress, and the doubts about the exact damages that would be caused by climate change if it were to happen as predicted, how much should we be willing to invest in reducing carbon emissions by say 1 ton? I, for one, don't know."

In this context, is the meaning "I, for one, don't know." closer from "As far as I am concerned, I would no dare saying that I have an answer to that question" or "In this case, I cannot answer this question", with for one indicating that the person has an answer to many other questions but not this one?

Best Answer

for one is an interesting idiom. It is used in several ways, predominantly to say that you believe your opinion or action is right, even if others do not

The rest of you may disagree, but I, for one, think we should proceed with the plan.

It can also indicate a particular one of several possibilities

I, for one, am not upset or ashamed; in fact, I feel very grateful.

or, as one example, even if the only one

And I, for one, welcome our new insect overlords!

This last use (first uttered in The Simpsons) has become mimetic, and was used to honor Watson, IBM's artificially intelligent computer system capable of answering questions posed in natural language.

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