Sophomore Year, I wrote a paper which had the thesis: Kim Kardashian is the Modern-day Roman Hero.¹ Compared to other papers, I had so much fun putting it together that I’d chase outrageous academic arguments that I could legitimately back up. I started calling them “wait…what? whoa!” papers because those were the reactions I would get from people when I’d tell them my idea. 

Since then, I’ve realized ideas can be put into four categories:

• Wait…What?: Ideas that you hear that remain a head scratcher. As hard as you try, you never get it.
• Why?: These ideas make complete sense, but you are not sure why anyone would choose to pursue them.
• Whoa!: Great ideas that are great ideas from the moment you hear them.
• Wait…What? Whoa!: Ideas that are initially confusing or absurd or something to laugh at but not take seriously, then as the person continues a lightbulb goes off and it becomes incredible.

Wait… What? Whoa! ideas force people to confront assumptions they originally made and potentially shift their perspectives.² They are the ideas best set up to create change and therefor arguably the best ideas to put effort behind.

Interestingly, once executed well, Wait…What? Whoa! ideas often come off as obvious. Of course that invention was made, that project was backed, or a studio supported that film. People forget the wait…what after they experience the whoa. Take the World Wide Web³ for example. Technology that millions of people use every day without question was once mind blowing. A virtual world was created that can provide entertainment, education, connection.⁴ Wait…What? Whoa! And this happens all the time in the technology sector. It also happens in film. Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, specifically the Ken dream ballet, is the biggest Wait…What? Whoa! of the year.

I say all of this because this site is dedicated to sharing Wait…What? Whoa! concepts and hopefully one day a space to provide updates on Wait…What? Whoa! projects of my own in the pipeline. If reading this made you think of a project you love or one that does not yet exist, please contact me! I’d love to hear it.