Good Lost, Bad Lost (Updated)

Do we want our visitors to become … lost?

A. NO
B. YES
C. BOTH

A word that can be its own opposite is called a contronym. The word “dust” can mean both “add fine particles” and “remove fine particles”.

The word “lost” also has two opposite meanings: Good Lost and Bad Lost.

You already know Good Lost. It’s in “lost in the moment”, “lost in the work”, and “lost in her eyes”. We want our museums filled with Good Lost.

But you know Bad Lost too: “I lost my way”, “he lost his fight”, “Mommy, I’m lost”. We want to protect our visitors from Bad Lost.

Fix Bad Lost — with good signage.

But create Good Lost — with great museum experiences.

Here’s the thing:
“Lost” doesn’t have one meaning, it has two: Good Lost and Bad Lost. You’ll always have both, but you only want to get rid of one of them.

Because the other one is the reason you’re in business.

Warmly,
Jonathan