Author: Jonathan

Jonathan Cook is a researcher of commercial culture, specializing in immersive interviews designed to uncover the emotions, symbols, stories and rituals that drive our behavior in unexpected directions.
nadryv

Nadryv

Nadryv is a Russian word that is difficult to translate because it refers to something that is, at first glance, inexplicable. Nadryv is an emotion that has been suppressed for so long that… more emotion Nadryv

collywobbles

Butterflies in the Stomach

There are those who believe that it’s enough to identify the general emotion of anxiety and leave it at that. The problem with that generalist approach, however, is that it either assumes that… more emotion Butterflies in the Stomach

spontaneous

Spontaneity

As we grow up to become members of civilization, we are urged to plan ahead. We’re told not to go out into the world when our bodies come of age, but to stay… more emotion Spontaneity

emotion zany

Zany

A zany mood is a reaction against the straightjacket of normality. It is an unpredictable, rebellious emotion that looks at the world from a bent angle.

Starstruck

Starstruck

In the emotion of malu, a person becomes suddenly overwhelmed into awkward silence in the presence of someone who has higher social status. The feeling of being starstruck is something like that, but… more emotion Starstruck

Malu

Malu

You’d been advised that you need to develop an elevator pitch, a 30-second speech that you could give, explaining why your ideas are worth paying attention to, if you just so happened to… more emotion Malu

Werifesteria giant statue

Werifesteria

Werifesteria is not an Old English word at all, though some have claimed it to be, suffering from a linguistic form of werifesteria.

disdain

Contempt

In the mid-20th century, a school of psychologists attempted to establish a system for objectively identifying basic universal emotions, agreed upon by all people regardless of of cultural differences and individual experiences. Their… more emotion Contempt

Douglas Adams Brabant

Brabant

Brabant is made up, but the pleasure that comes from taunting someone else to the point of losing their cool is a genuine emotion.

abhiman

Abhimaan

Emotions are much more than just simple biological reactions. They’re culturally-embedded concepts that don’t exist universally, but are experienced as subtle subjectivities that are often difficult to explain. The feeling of abhimaan is… more emotion Abhimaan