25 Confusing Things That People Pretend To Understand

From childhood, we learn new information and gain knowledge to better understand how to navigate our world. But there are just some things that are so complex or lacking in the sense that it leaves the modern adult stumped to this day.

#1 How some “fine art” is considered “fine art” when it looks like some s**t a 1st grader made.

Image source: DrDreidel82, Shawn Rain

#2 Sleep. I’ve been doing it for over 30 years but I still for the life of me can’t figure out how it works. One second I’m totally conscious on my bed with my eyes closed, and the next moment I’m awake. Like wtf is going on.

Image source: lasteclipse, Andrea Piacquadio

#3 How computers work, on the most fundamental level.

Image source: Pays_in_snakes, Eduardo Rosas

#4 Wine tasting. You guys can taste chocolate, cigar smoke, nuts, fruits, etc., all I can taste is fermented grapes. I’m sure I can come up with a bunch of random words, and they’ll buy the whole farm.

Image source: StudBoi69, Valeria Boltneva

#5 The United States Government.

Image source: hatheaven, Natalia FaLon

#6 The capillary effect

Image source: anon, MesserWoland

So here’s a narrow tube – ok

Here’s water – ok

Water goes up against gravity – WHAT THE F**K IS THIS BLACK MAGIC FUCKERY

Edit: woah this blew up.

#7 The love some people have for watching sports.

To edit/elaborate, I went to a Big 10 school. I honestly had no idea how much of a religion sports were to people when I first started; I was truly there for, well, my education. After 4 years of trying to pretend my way into understanding, I couldn’t will myself to get into it.

Image source: KittenTitterBums

#8 Space, time, and gravity, and their relationship with each other.

Image source: 12welf, https://www.pexels.com/photo/starry-sky-998641/

Also, gravitational lenses (I think?), where gravity of a massive or dense planet bends light around it so that the planet becomes a magnifying glass to see objects even further into space that would otherwise be blocked from line of sight by the massive planet.

#9 My job, fake it till you make it. I didn’t know over half of my job when I got hired. I researched most of it the weekend before and ask a lot of questions.

Image source: Vlaed, Anna Tarazevich

#10 The Electoral College.

Image source: Tracyannk28, cottonbro studio

It’s not even a real college!

#11 I just don’t understand how people are happy to work 9-5 for decades for a mere 2 weeks off.

Image source: SweetLucid

#12 Cryptocurrency I know enough to get about 25% of the way there but then I just don’t get it… Something about computers doing complicated math for … something… or someone … then that being a block… using that block to make money… that might not actually be money but it is money to someone so I guess that’s what makes it money

Image source: InItsTeeth, Behnam Norouzi

**EDIT**

I got so much info from this comment maybe I should have said something about my research paper.

#13 3D printers. Like, I can’t even wrap my head around the concept, but then I’m just over here like, if it works why can’t we just 3D print everything??

Image source: pizzanotpineapples, FOX

#14 When people try to talk to me quietly and I don’t want to make them repeat is for the 5th time.

Image source: eat_my_cannoli, cottonbro studio

#15 My job. I’m a software developer but my true job title should be “Creative Googler”.

Image source: ZestyWalrus, Nathana Rebouças

#16 Having children. I have two stepkids and so far I just don’t think the time, money and stress is worth “it”. Then I think what is “It”. I’ve asked several people why they had kids and mostly they say to continue their line. ??? I still don’t get it.

Image source: chartito

#17 Baking. I’m in my last semester of culinary school and I’m taking a baking class. I swear, it’s like f*****g voodoo and witchcraft in there. I’m pretty sure we sacrificed a virgin the other day to make the foccacia proof properly. I’ll stick to regular cooking.

Image source: twitchy_taco, Nathan Dumlao

#18 How air conditioning works. Every time I try and research it, I get a lot of smug answers about “you know it doesnt actually MAKE cold, it just PULLS heat from the air…” OK great. How does it do that?

Image source: mr_feenys_car, Kévin JINER

#19 Computers and software. Plot twist – I am a software developer.

Image source: TotallyADalek

#20 Magnets. I mean, day to day I walk around in my lab coat with a clip board, pretending I know all sorts of things. Yet, for all my scientific know-how one question continues to plague me: *Magnets; how do they work?*.

Image source: anon, Jametlene Reskp

#21 People are commending my wife and me on raising our kid (10 months now). Truth is we are totally winging it and she’s just been really pleasant so far … too pleasant.

Image source: notsofastandy

#22 Confidence. I don’t know how the f**k you become confident but I pretend like I am and it seems to work.

Image source: anon

#23 I got near perfect scores in my physics classes for engineering and literally nothing about our universe makes sense to me. I just treat it like a religion and have faith in it. I’m just an engineer and not a scientist so it should work out, I think.

Image source: 4827335772991

#24 Anyone who says they understand quantum mechanics are liars.

Image source: anon

#25 When people talk for to long I pretend like I understand what they’re saying but in reality I wasn’t paying attention.

Image source: GorillaS0up