On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, Big Ben chimes and a cannon fires a single shot. Across Britain, people fall silent for two minutes of remembrance. It symbolises the moment 104 years ago when the guns stopped at the end of one of the deadliest wars in history.¹

The silence is broken by a solitary bugle playing the uplifting notes of The RouseTraditionally this bugle call was played in military camps to get the soldiers out of bed. It is now played alongside the Last Post at military funerals and memorials.. Across the world, from the Arc de Triomphe in Paris to Arlington National Cemetery in the US, the same solemn rituals are observed.

In London, wreaths are laid at the foot of the CenotaphA monument to those killed in World War One. The word is Greek for empty tomb.. The name of this austere memorial means, literally, "empty tomb" - a poignant reminder of the thousands of dead who never returned home from World War One.

But one soldier did come back. A hundred years ago, a horse-drawn gun carriage brought a casket through London, past immense silent crowds, to be buried in Westminster Abbey, alongside 16 kings and queens of England.

Who was this soldier? We do not know. He was picked at random from thousands buried in unmarked graves on battlefields across France. "It literally could have been anybody," says historian Terry Charman. "It could have been an earl or a duke's son, or a labourer from South Africa."

And because he could have been anyone, he became everyone. Each grieving family was able to imagine that their loved one lay "among the kings" in the Tomb of the Unknown WarriorThe unknown soldier lies in a coffin made of oak from the royal palace of Hampton Court, buried in soil from battlefields in France and covered by black marble from Belgium., a lasting symbol of the universal and human cost of war.

Charman says this ritual created catharsisOriginally used by the Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle to explain the power of art to dispel strong negative emotions. The term is used in psychotherapy to describe how patients can overcome difficulties by expressing and facing their fears., transforming the painful unknown of thousands of unidentified dead into a tangible unknown that could be embraced and mourned.

It is a powerful idea that draws on the unique ability of the unknown to incite our imagination and arouse strong feelings. The psychologist Nicholas Carleton argues that the fear of the unknown may be "the one fear to rule them all", an ancient evolutionary response to danger that kept our ancestors alive.

In the primordialExisting at or from the beginning of time. jungles, it was wise to be afraid of the dark or wary of a strange-looking fruit. The unfamiliar could kill and humanity's powerful imagination filled the unknown with fearsome monsters.

But some choose to face the unknown. From Scott of the AntarcticRobert Falcon Scott (1868-1912) was a British explorer who led the expedition that discovered the Antarctic Plateau, where the South Pole is located. It was the first major scientific exploration of the continent. to Amelia EarhartThe American aviator was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean and disappeared in 1937 in an ill-fated attempt to circumnavigate the world., explorers have found the blank spaces on maps an irresistible invitation to cross oceans and continents and conquer their fears.

Artists and philosophers have purposefully sought out the unknown. The American poet Wallace Stevens wrote that without it, scholars "would shrivel up with boredom". David HumeThe Scottish philosopher argued that all human knowledge is acquired through experience and therefore embracing the unknown is a fundamental part of being human. described philosophy as like setting sail on a "boundless ocean" in a "leaky weather-beaten vessel".

And the unknown may hold the secret to happiness. Psychologists argue that we need to leave our comfort zonePsychologists describe a "stretch zone" in between the safety of the familiar and the danger of the complete unknown. Engaging with new challenges and experiences helps us acquire skills and grow in confidence. and build mental resilience with new experiences. Sociologists warn that society has become risk averse, making it much harder to deal with the inevitability of uncertainty.²

The unknown is troubling, scary and maybe even dangerous.

Yes: Fearing the unknown stops us from achieving our full potential. If we do not embrace it, we resign ourselves to living dull and predictable lives without adventure or discovery.

No: The world is a scary and unpredictable place and there is nothing wrong with sticking to the things we know and trust. There is no reason why we should put ourselves in situations where we feel afraid or uncomfortable.

Or... Experiencing and embracing the unknown together can be a beautiful moment that bonds humans together - as in the case of the unknown soldier. Bu you should not put yourself in danger just for new experiences.