One use for “I don’t know” I’ve found is to signal a lack of confidence. If I say “I don’t know, but it seems like,” people will understand that I haven’t moved far from an ignorance prior.
Another useful function is the implied contrast: I know far more than you about voting theory, but even then I don’t know whether AV would be better, so you definitely shouldn’t claim to know.
One use for “I don’t know” I’ve found is to signal a lack of confidence. If I say “I don’t know, but it seems like,” people will understand that I haven’t moved far from an ignorance prior.
Another useful function is the implied contrast: I know far more than you about voting theory, but even then I don’t know whether AV would be better, so you definitely shouldn’t claim to know.