Seeking Certainty, Assurance and Security

Is the solving of a mystery somehow akin to seeking assurance?

I would think so. On balance, wouldn't you say that bad knowns are generally better than potentially bad unknowns? Draw from your own history ... did you experience some relief (if that's the right word) when you came to know for certain what type of cancer you had, it's extent, and your chances?

I'm sure someone has done some social science studies on this -- gauging the degree of anxiety caused by unknowns vs. knowns. Certainty -- even bad certainty -- is often better than the unknown. At least then we know what we're dealing with.

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By the way, forget about time travel back in time. Can't be done, according to these folks.