Fun with abstract thought

When on trips, my wife and I will occasionally play a game that has no real name, but which I will call "Disturb-o-drome" here so as to cement its realism. The game starts by posing two relatively mundane words, objects, or concepts that fall together into some kind of category. The category, really, is what needs to be determined first, because as the game progresses, you mine the category for different concepts until you find the one thing in that category which is fundamentally the most disturbing.

As an example, let's say the category is "kitchen utensils." I would take two members of this category, something like a knife and a spoon. Often, both of you will immediately agree on the more disturbing of the two. If you disagree, you discuss the issue - try to convince the other that really, truly, the spoon is much more disturbing. Consensus is usually reached, as the conflict tends not to stem from the nature of the Things in question, but in the nature of what "disturbing" is. It's easy to slide from disturbing to creepy, and from creepy to scary, and from scary to dangerous (I know from personal experience). But those are all very different things.  For me, a knife is more dangerous. Maybe more scary, too. But disturbing? The spoon is more disturbing. 

Once you agree on "spoon," the other person suggests a new combatant, "fork." For me, this is a trickier contest, but in the absence of any rebuttal, I'd probably stick with spoon. This keeps going until you can't come up with any other viable contestants from the category, and you both end up pretty convinced that something like the slotted spatula is the most disturbing of all kitchen utensils. You probably wouldn't have come up with that initially, but group-think makes it so. 

It's possible that you have to be a certain kind of person to want to play this game, or to think it is any kind of fun, but it's my favorite travel activity. You'd probably want to change it up based on your players, though. If my kids were involved, I'd just make it "scary," instead of "disturbing." For the people at work, assuming a universe in which I would actually play a game with them, maybe "absurd." With the lady at the DMV, "kafkaesque." 

As in all things, your mileage may vary. It requires you actually talk to the people you're playing with, so, obviously, I haven't done much beta-testing.

Comments

[Jason LaPorte]

This is not one iota shy of true genius.

I salute you, sir.

(Also, I think the game only truly works when "disturbing" is the adjective under scrutiny.)

[Q]

What about refrigerators?

[Katie-wa]

HAHA about the refrigerators. It's fun to read the blogs of a husband and wife, because then you can make fun jokes like Q just did. ^_^

This is a game I play frequently, but I never thought of it as a game. I always thought of it as a debate on opinions, which is far less fun.

I'm gonna play this at lunch from now on. Yes!!

[Marcus Aurelius]

"It's easy to slide from disturbing to creepy, and from creepy to scary, and from scary to dangerous."

Dean, this is probably as close as humanly possible that anyone will come to describing my experience with you in high school.

[Je Reve]

Spoons, definitely. Gag me with one, for gosh sake!

And I'm trying this on the next tedious trip in the car.

[Karen]

I thought it was gag me with a pitchfork... I loved the 80's.

[Buy from taobao]

Um...like the style of your writing.*_*

[agent taobao]

*One of these days is none of these days!!!

[taobao shop]

Um...like the style of your writing.*_*

[Puma Outlet]

Iran's actions may very well be a response to a perceived threat from the USA, but do you know how moronic you sound when say things like "comfortably settling" and "no intention of leaving"? Do some homework, bergamo, before trying to comment intelligently on world affairs.