upworthy

Ryan Reed

Mental Health

Things people 'used to believe in strongly' but no longer do

From adults being "smart" to the idea that "everything happens for a reason."

Photo credit: Canva

People used to believe "strongly" in these things but no longer do.

It’s normal to adapt your worldview with time and wisdom, especially after realizing that a lot of your past beliefs were built on shaky foundations. When I was a kid, for example, I used to think every doctor on the planet was a virtuous genius—and then I had the pleasure of searching for a long-term gastroenterologist. (I did find a virtuous genius, mind you. But it took a lot of searching.)

On that note, it’s a fascinating exercise to think about our shifting perceptions. In a recent viral post, a group of strangers sounded off on the following prompt: "What’s something you used to believe in strongly but no longer do?"

As of this writing, the top response in the r/AskReddit thread is, "I used to really believe in 'everything happens for a reason,' but now I think sometimes things just happen and we make meaning from it." The exchanges are both enlightening and hilarious as people politely debate the very definition of "reason."

- YouTubeTurning 40 got me thinking about all the lessons I've learned over the years—things I wish someone had told me in my 20s and ...

"It’s up to us to find meaning in what happens," another user wrote, pointing to the random nature of life. "[N]ot everything has some bigger purpose."

Someone replied that "things happen for reasons," just not by some grandiose design. "[H]istory is less God’s plan and more eldritch Lovecraftian chaos. The events of your life were largely decided long ago by patterns of history and culture that none of us can really understand other than to break them down to hyper specific pieces. Even then it largely just seems to drive us insane."

Of course, the question of faith and God was popular and reflected recent research on Americans and religion. In September 2022, the Pew Research Center published a report focused on the decline of Americans’ religious beliefs in recent decades. "Since 2007, the percentage of adults who say they are atheist, agnostic or 'nothing in particular' in the Center’s surveys has grown from 16% to 29%," they wrote. "During this time, the share of U.S. adults who identify as Christian has fallen from 78% to 63%."

Perhaps the most succinct reply in this exchange: "There is a reason. That reason is just usually a combination of entropy and human stupidity."

Someone else wrote that they no longer believe "that adults [are] smart," earning a lot of upvotes. As I illustrated in my comment about doctors, I couldn’t agree more with this one. Growing up, I thought all people over 30 (even those with a low IQ), were rich in other forms of intelligence like life experience and street smarts. Now I’m older than my parents were when I was born, and I realize how wrong I was.

gif of Joey Tribbiana tapping his head and saying, "Not just a hat rack, my friend."Season 6 Knowledge GIF by FriendsGiphy

One user no longer believes that "everything that goes around comes around," and they weren’t alone. In an amazing response, someone wrote, "Karma is highly misunderstood. Good and bad don’t exist; it’s all a matter of perspective. Karma is closer to physics—actions and decisions create consequences that affect our lives in sometimes unseen or unpredictable ways." Deep.

Other responses touch on the death penalty, the nature of empathy, marriage, spirituality, the nature of truth, welfare, marijuana, the idea that "you should never walk out of a job," Santa Claus, the justice system, the American Dream, and the concept of college being "always worth it."

On a lighter note, someone simply wrote, "[That] mayo on fries is gross. Spoiler, it's not."

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Education

Workers who do 'nothing' at the office share how they actually spend their time

"I don't know for how long I will be able to keep going, but I'm gonna exploit the situation the best I can"

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People who do "nothing" at work break down what they do all day.

Most of us, at some point in our lives, have been guilty of twiddling our thumbs while on the clock. (Back in college, when I worked at a library, that was basically part of the job description.) But in a recent viral post, strangers are swapping stories about gigs where they did "literally nothing" work-related—and sharing how they actually spent their time.

The OP opens the conversation by detailing a typical "boring" day at their current (and first) job—an entry-level role they've held for seven months. "I get to work, I open my PC, and I stare at my screen for 8 hours straight," they write. "Most days I have absolutely nothing to do, and the days there’s some work it takes at most a couple [hours] of my time. I work in an open space, but nobody has noticed, so I guess I’m really good at [seeming] busy. My bosses respect me and even thank me for my work. I don’t know how long I will be able to keep going, but I’m gonna exploit the situation the best I can."

Bored Julia Louis Dreyfus GIFGiphy

From there, fellow Redditors weighed in with their own stories—from cruising through short-term jobs to milking the downtime at longterm employment. The range in tone varied wildly: Some people encouraged the OP savor every slow day, while others recommended staying busy in other ways.

"This has been my life since early last year," one user wrote. "Laterally moved within my company and now have significant downtime, like I’m in my office at 8 and I’m done with everything by 8:45. I decided to study for the LSAT and just got into law school a few weeks ago. My advice: don’t waste this opportunity."

Someone else said they were in a similar position for eight years, working as a designer at a small agency, where they "only needed to perform on one day each week." Most of the time, they "just needed to be there in case something happened." But instead of doing nothing, they "made great use" of their free time: reading books, learning to code, doing freelance work, and learning enough "to get much better jobs" in the future. "Don’t waste this time staring at the screen," they wrote. "There are plenty of things you can do with a computer, internet access, and free time. Use it. You won't regret it."

Bored Season 3 GIF by The OfficeGiphy

Another user wrote that, in the OP’s shoes, they’d "never be able to go home feeling accomplished." They recommended soaking in as much experience as possible and then seeking out a better job. "Don’t waste your time not expanding your knowledge," they wrote. Someone else said they had a low-work job for four years, and it sent them into a depression. "My advice[:] Ask for project work a few times a week," they wrote. "if you don't get anything, use the time to learn something [you’re] interested in and plan for the next job."

Also, you know someone in the thread had to quote Mike Judge’s 1999 black comedy Office Space, which takes a satirical look at office jobs of that era. “I’d say in a given week I probably only do about 15 minutes of real, actual work," one user wrote, quoting Ron Livingston’s disgruntled protagonist, Peter Gibbons.

i hate my job bored at work GIFGiphy

Anyway, if you find yourself bored at work and find productive ways to stay busy, check out Indeed’s list of 16 options, like listening to podcasts, creating a networking group, and mentoring a junior employee.

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Pop Culture

Watch people make intense electronic music from, yes, barcode scanners

No cash registers required.

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Some forward-thinking artists are making electronic music with, yes, barcode scanners.

You can make music from just about anything. When my youthful exuberance was at its highest and my net worth at its lowest, I once made a beat by recording myself slamming doors and punching tables.

My experiments, admittedly, didn’t sound great. But some forward-thinking musicians have built an entire art form by seeking sounds in unusual places—and in the case of Electronics Fantasticos!, a Japanese project centered around Ei Wada, by transforming "outdated electrical appliances into new electronic instruments." In an incredible viral YouTube video, they demonstrate their most famous piece of gear: the Barcoder, a barcode scanner that generates sound not through a cash register but by "connecting scan-signals of a barcode scanner to a powered speaker directly."

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

In the clip, two "barcodists," Wada and Akira Ataka, appear to be set up in a makeshift performance space, where each scan various blocks of black-and-white patterns. When arranged rhythmically, the synthesizer-like sounds they produce—low, pulsating grunts and high-pitched squeals—wind up resembling intense electronic music. (Bonus points for scanning their own striped shirts, which look like referee outfits.)

The YouTube comments are outstanding. One person (accurately) joked, "This is like the 1990s’ prediction of what 2020s music would be," and someone else chimed in, "When you lost your job as a DJ and ended up becoming a cashier." Also, props to the viewer who suggested they "just need a zebra to complete the band."

Electronics Fantasticos! have filmed a lot of Barcoder demonstrations, and they even took it to another level with the Barcodress. In this experiment, a dancer wears a dress "on which signals are engraved as striped patterns," and sound waves are created as the Barcoder scans their movements. They describe it as an artistic expression "where clothes, dance, and music playing become one." They continue, "It’s just like a dress serves as a record, dance as a turntable, a player as a record player needle, and expands the record and play mechanism to a physical expression. We explore possibility of 'Electromagnetic Dance!'" Mind-bending stuff.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

The project includes many bizarre instruments beyond the Barcoder. Take the "Hoovahorn, Tofoovahorn, and Vacuumonica," which vibrate reeds "by suction of a vacuum cleaner." There’s also the CRT-TV drums, which "produce sound when a player catches static electricity emitted from CRT-TV screens with bare hands and sends the electric signal to a guitar amplifier through a coil attached to the leg of a player." Other staples include the "Factory Fan Bass," "A/C Harp," and "Electric Fan Harp."

Wada has grown Electronics Fantasticos! into a larger community, establishing six activity bases throughout Japan and creating a "worldwide lab on the Internet" with nearly 100 members. They held the Electro-Magnetic Bon-Dance Festival in 2017 and, two years later, formed a multinational band to perform at Austria's Ars Electronica Festival.

If you're interested in supporting other creative people who make unusual instruments, check out YouTuber Burls Art, who’s built guitars out of 800 pieces of paper, 14 skateboards, 700 sheets of newspaper, 1,600 RadioShack dollar coins, 50 pounds of copper wire, and 1,000 melted cans.

Talk about alternative electronic music!

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Humor

Someone kept a log of the weird, hilarious stuff their husband has said while sleep-talking

"Orange soggy tentacles"

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Someone shared the weird, hilarious things her husband has said in his sleep.

My wife occasionally talks in her sleep, but it’s mostly unintelligible grunts. If she actually spoke in coherent sentences of absurd one-liners, I probably wouldn’t get much rest. In a recent viral post, someone documented the weirdness their husband has said mid-snooze. Are these profound dream images, just waiting to be decoded? Are they merely nonsense? You be the judge.

The quotes, shared on Reddit, are presented in a screenshot from the notes app on the user’s phone. We’ll refrain from sharing some of the more explicit responses, but here are a few of our SFW favorites:

Homer Simpson snores loudly, and Marge looks concernedTrying To Sleep Season 13 GIF by The SimpsonsGiphy

- "Nugly ass face show on the road"

Not sure what to make of this, but it sounds angry.

- "Everyone gets a pirate eye"

This makes me laugh because "pirate eye" seems like it could be a reference to a pirate’s eye patch or a slurred version of "private eye"

- "I need a tunk tunk"

- "Go to the hen room, go to the hen room!!!!"

The sense of urgency is critical here.

- "Orange soggy tentacles"

Now I finally have a name for my awful psychedelic rock band.

- "Your home nightlight"

- "Weird al yancovichts [sic] I want him in my talent show I want him to eat all my food"

So much to unpack. Who’s hosting the talent show? Does this have something to do with "Eat It," Weird Al’s parody of the Michael Jackson hit "Beat It"?

happy wake up GIF by SkyGiphy

- "Cardi b I told you to be careful and make me coffee"

After someone asked for more info about this one, the OP clarified in the comments, "The best part is I’ve never even heard him speak the name 'Cardi B' awake, and she’s definitely not in our music rotation hahaha."

- "Oh wow wow wow"

- "I wanna have some rice"

- "Lock jaw 3"

This sounds like the sequel to a bad horror movie.

As you might imagine, the comments on this thread were pretty entertaining, and a few other people shared their own mid-sleep mutterings. One person shared that they sometimes record their sleep-talking, and some of their favorites include "I am a Scientologist... the finest" and “Give them back before I punch you in the back of the head.”

Someone else said they’ve been documenting their husband’s sleep-talk oddities, which include, "Thanks, no, uhhhh lifting weight. Competitive lifting weight," "You got bare feet," "Whoa, are you food aggressive?" and the highly unsettling "Sorry, babe, time’s up."

hey arnold sleep GIFGiphy

If you hear your partner rambling at night, it could be alarming at first. But according to WebMD, sleep talking (or somniloquy) is a "very common occurrence" and not usually considered a medical issue. The speaking typically lasts for no longer than 30 seconds, though some people will have many episodes per night.

"The late-night diatribes may be exceptionally eloquent, or the words may be mumbled and hard to decipher," the article notes. "Sleep talking may involve simple sounds or long, involved speeches. Sleep talkers usually seem to be talking to themselves. But sometimes, they appear to carry on conversations with others." Half of all children between ages 3 and 10 talk in their sleep, but that number shrinks to around 5 percent for adults.

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