Great post, used this the other week to describe life and weird things online that I don't quite know what to make of at times. However, I love putting together Ikea furniture, wouldn't put it in this category.
I too am down to put together some Ikea furniture any time anyplace! Rather than bewildering I would put them in the oddlysatisfying category from box to behemoth with unusual tools and fasteners
Funny/sad story. I jumped on the .com startup bandwagon late 90's and my job was opening up new offices (tech side). San Diego, NYC, etc. Riding peak hype we planned for a fancy new HQ in the valley. New construction, server room w/ glass walls, top of the line Steelcase furniture, blah blah. Then the bottom fell out. Chopped the lease 50% to one floor instead of two and switched too... yep IKEA for the furniture. It was so sad, IKEA had no installation services so we hired a bunch of people to deliver it and set it up. Janky it was. Had to be blind to miss the writing on the wall, and I left before we even moved in.
That's kind of incredible. I feel like we got to live through a really important piece of history- the early internet, and then the dot com bust were super important lessons to observe and live through. I remember not very soon after that when 9/11 happened and I went to the internet for more up to date news than I could find on TV. A lot changed during a couple of pivotal years there, and I think we're living through another moment like that right now, only with way less time to adjust.
For sure and for a good while the Internet was liberating and amazing in finding accurate timely info and now it's devolved where that's no longer the case. Optimist view is the AI disruption will bring us to a new but better state. I don't do the google anymore.
The thing is that accurate and timely info has never been this easy (EG the drunken octopus effect), but only some people are choosing to drink from the cup of knowledge or whatever. The cup of kool-aid and vodka probably tastes better and is more fun in the short run. Welcome to Costco. I love you.
The term 'genetic bewilderment' was coined in the 1950s to describe the emotional and psychological impact of discovering that a parent was not biologically related to their child. With the rise of consumer DNA testing in the past decade, this phenomenon is now more commonly referred to as a 'nonpaternal event' or 'misattributed parentage'.
"... today we still call these animals wildebeests." When they aren't being called gnus, which is what I believe the natives of South Africa call them.
The concept comes up in popular song. Rodgers and Hart wrote "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" for the musical "Pal Joey". And the song "Bewildered" was recorded by many artists, most notably Billy Eckstine and James Brown.
In these cases, the bewildering thing is love, the most bewildering thing of all.
The IKEA instruction reference is a hoot! I am finding a similar situation in assembling chairs from Wayfair. What is bewildering to me is how what used to take me 1/2 hour to assemble now takes me 1/2 day! What captures the feeling for me is the oft used acronym, WTF!?
I found this whole post overwhelming and confusing to follow. How cool would it be if there was a single word to describe what I'm feeling.
That'd be wild.
Sure, but what would be wilder?
Great post, used this the other week to describe life and weird things online that I don't quite know what to make of at times. However, I love putting together Ikea furniture, wouldn't put it in this category.
I too am down to put together some Ikea furniture any time anyplace! Rather than bewildering I would put them in the oddlysatisfying category from box to behemoth with unusual tools and fasteners
I am going to call one of you the next time we need this.
Funny/sad story. I jumped on the .com startup bandwagon late 90's and my job was opening up new offices (tech side). San Diego, NYC, etc. Riding peak hype we planned for a fancy new HQ in the valley. New construction, server room w/ glass walls, top of the line Steelcase furniture, blah blah. Then the bottom fell out. Chopped the lease 50% to one floor instead of two and switched too... yep IKEA for the furniture. It was so sad, IKEA had no installation services so we hired a bunch of people to deliver it and set it up. Janky it was. Had to be blind to miss the writing on the wall, and I left before we even moved in.
That's kind of incredible. I feel like we got to live through a really important piece of history- the early internet, and then the dot com bust were super important lessons to observe and live through. I remember not very soon after that when 9/11 happened and I went to the internet for more up to date news than I could find on TV. A lot changed during a couple of pivotal years there, and I think we're living through another moment like that right now, only with way less time to adjust.
For sure and for a good while the Internet was liberating and amazing in finding accurate timely info and now it's devolved where that's no longer the case. Optimist view is the AI disruption will bring us to a new but better state. I don't do the google anymore.
The thing is that accurate and timely info has never been this easy (EG the drunken octopus effect), but only some people are choosing to drink from the cup of knowledge or whatever. The cup of kool-aid and vodka probably tastes better and is more fun in the short run. Welcome to Costco. I love you.
The term 'genetic bewilderment' was coined in the 1950s to describe the emotional and psychological impact of discovering that a parent was not biologically related to their child. With the rise of consumer DNA testing in the past decade, this phenomenon is now more commonly referred to as a 'nonpaternal event' or 'misattributed parentage'.
Neat! Thanks for the terminology, even if it's becoming anachronistic. I love that metaphorical jump.
"... today we still call these animals wildebeests." When they aren't being called gnus, which is what I believe the natives of South Africa call them.
The concept comes up in popular song. Rodgers and Hart wrote "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" for the musical "Pal Joey". And the song "Bewildered" was recorded by many artists, most notably Billy Eckstine and James Brown.
In these cases, the bewildering thing is love, the most bewildering thing of all.
Hey thanks! I never gnu that.
The IKEA instruction reference is a hoot! I am finding a similar situation in assembling chairs from Wayfair. What is bewildering to me is how what used to take me 1/2 hour to assemble now takes me 1/2 day! What captures the feeling for me is the oft used acronym, WTF!?
It has always taken me half a day, my friend. I will even pay someone to do this if it's an option.
In Judeo-German (aka Yiddish), the word for a misbehaving child is vilde chayeh, or wild beast.
That seems incredibly appropriate. Children can absolutely seem untamed!