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Parenting
(n.)
The fading of shared curiosity between parent and child when questions can be answered instantly, removing the need to wonder, search, or not-know together.
Some families fight the unwondering with a family rule: nobody looks anything up until everyone has offered a thoughtful guess.
Does it ring true?
From the future, or already here?
The Old English word wonder (from wunder ) has always carried a double meaning: to wonder, the question, and a sense of wonder, the awe. Here, the un- ends both: removing the need to search for answers together also kills our sense of shared awe.
Future Words: A Non-Obvious Glossary of Terms That Don’t Exist (But Soon Will) collects all 100, each with its example sentence and coinage notes, from the bestselling authors of The Future Normal. Hardcover, October 20, 2026.