Vocab from The Glass Cage: Welter

The Glass Cage by Nicholas Carr is getting me to think!  Among many things, it asserts that by constantly using GPS to navigate our world, we are limiting our sensory interaction with our surroundings and stifling our brain power.

So, this weekend, when I needed to find a new destination, I looked at the overview in my iPhone Maps app, figured out how to get to where I needed to go all by myself, and turned off the app.  I used memory and spatial orientation to get to the address.  When I arrived successfully, I felt extremely proud.

The teenaged girls in the car with me thought I was nuts.

wondrous memeThe Glass Cage also continues to teach me new vocabulary.  If you like learning new words, visit Kathy at Bermuda Onion to see more word nerdy posts.  You can add your own word post to the meme too.

My word comes from this quote from The Glass Cage:

As automation technologies become more complicated and more interconnected, with a welter of links and dependencies among software instructions, databases, network protocols, sensors, and mechanical parts, the potential sources of failure multiply.”

I’d only heard of welter in relation to boxing; welterweight.  This is different.

welter \ˈwel-tər\ from Middle Dutch welteren to roll

  • noun:
    • a state of wild disorder
    • turmoil
    • a chaotic mass
  • intransitive verb:
    • to writhe, toss
    • to toss about in waves
    • to become deeply sunk or involved
    • to be in turmoil

Word Nerd Note: A welterweight is a boxer who weighs between a lightweight and a middleweight, up to 147 pounds

Word Nerd Workout

I think welter would be fun to use in a sentence.  Think of turmoil, and go!

The sideline was a welter of soccer bags, soccer balls, rumpled sweatshirts, and water bottles.  I had no hope for finding my son’s hat.

Thanks for “playing”!

Julia

 

 

 

 

 

 

Julia Tomiak
I believe in the power of words to improve our lives, and I help people find interesting words to read. Member of SCBWI.

5 Comments

  1. “The hallway was a welter of students burdened with huge backpacks, and I had to press against the wall to avoid being trampled on my way to the cafeteria.”

    I don’t like relying on GPS – I always feel like I have a better way to get there.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.