People Explain Which Simple Concepts They Just Can't Grasp

Tech And Science

We're grateful for these because we live without them. But how does it all work?

Computer Guts

"How computer hardware like circuit boards and mother boards and graphics cards somehow magically translate electricity into the stuff your software can do. Like I get how hitting the A button makes an A appear on your screen. But how does a bunch of metal and silicon and plastic make graphics for games and the thinking for NPCs or spellchecker on word processors. I mean I know it's 1s and 0s but still."

– bread-in-captivity

Getting Charged

"100%, call me dumb but uh wtf is electricity. How does it get there for us to use?"

– sheepandboats

Needle And Groove

"record players???????? how"

– razzleberry971

"Zoom way way in.. nope keep going.. okay here's a groove with pits and valley's that go up and down that also moves from side to side a bit.."

"Now you've got a needle moving in that track.. that needle is attached to a small magnet that's suspended between tightly wound coils of wire.. as the magnet moves it induces a very small electrical current in the coil. That current is then feed into an amplification circuit that boosts it into the audible range. In there will be circuitry to help filter, etc."

https://youtu.be/0vbyoZDQaIY

– mysticalfruit

Sew, How Does It Work?

"How a sewing machine works. How does it loop and thread?? I've seen graphics on how it works and all, but my brain refuses to understand what's going on."

– jojojoyee

Existence

Life and history. There are tons of books and studies. And yet, being cognizant of the facts doesn't mean they no longer remain mysterious.

Previous Civilizations

"That we live on top of ancient cities."

"I mean, I do get the basic concepts. It's not that I don't believe that there were civilizations before us, and that their cities eventually got abandoned, ruined, destroyed or conquered."

"I just can't imagine my hometown with all its streets, buildings and everything else being completely leveled and another city being built on top of it, to the point that it falls into the ground and you have to dig it to find it. As I said, I completely understand the concept and the history lessons, I have a hard time figuring it out visually in my head an entire city being covered with ground and another city being built on top of it."

– ViaNocturna664

Vastness Of Nature

"Somewhat related, I have a hard time imagining true wilderness. The idea that in the past there was more land without people and settlements than there was and just how large those expanses were. Having only seen a much settled word, I can't imagine the scale of woods or prairies there once were"

– jittery_raccoon

Ceasing To Exist

"Death, like I can't fathom just not existing anymore."

– girlsplzpmyournudes

"Honestly coming to terms with the fact that I can't fathom existing, either, is the biggest comfort of 'not understanding death.' I don't understand existence or nonexistence. Both seem impossible. I'm not going from the light to the dark. I'm just going from the dark to the other dark. I guess that's why the last audio clip of 'Dark Side of the Moon,' which is used as a metaphor for death throughout, is 'there is no dark side of the moon, really. As a matter of fact, it's all dark.'"

"On one hand, it's even more terrifying to just feel like I understand nothing and am completely in the dark always. On the other hand, it's been just fine, even fun, being in the dark. Maybe I don't need the illusion of understanding at all. Maybe it only hurts."

– FootofGod

Concepts

Many of us don't question how these came to be. But they can be mind-blowing if you stop and really break down their existence.

Measurements

"Estimating size and distance. Don't ask me how many inches a tablecloth overhang is. I don't know if it's three inches or six inches. How far is it to nearest major city in miles? I dunno, about an hour in the car. How tall is my kid? Umm, like to my ribs. Soooo anywhere between 2' and 4'."

– cinnamonfestival

Does Not Compute

"Infinity. Not when it comes to numbers, more like when it comes to space."

"Like, what the hell do you mean 'space is infinite and ever-expanding?' These two things should be antithetical to each other, since for something to expand, it must be finite."

– Next-Daikon

Tick Tock

"Time."

"Like what the actual f*k is that supposed to be?? how does it have a direction?"

– martianruby

A Confusing Market

"Economy. Things like stock market or bitcoin..."

– randomcumm

"How crypocurrency works as anything other than an investment. Transaction costs make it useless as a real currency."

– BrazenBull

Great Beyond

"How there's no end to space. Also, I think if there was an end, it would be even more terrifying."

– iBelieveInSpace

"What gets me is what is beyond space. It's increasing extremely fast, but if you somehow were faster than it (obviously impossible but if you think about it that way) what would you find? And what was there before the big bang and stuff? Trying to understand there being 'nothing', not even darkness, which is what you typically think of when it's nothing, screws with my brain."

– babybunnyharr_

People's Beliefs

"The fact that people can just deny modern medicine or regular facts and then call everybody else crazy for following basic knowledge. "oH tHE EaRtH is fLAt" no the hell it is not."

– big_noob9006

Words can break down in detail how the things around work – but that doesn't mean we have a better understanding.

The discussion of time, for instance, can lead a person down a philosophical rabbit hole.

When and how did we get here?

They say time will tell, but so far, we have yet to hear from it.