Ha, ha! I asked ChatGPT, here are 4 suggestions it gave...
That’s an excellent candidate for a compound German word — and you’re right, German is *excellent* at smashing concepts into precise, slightly tragic, slightly funny words.
There’s no standard German word for **“I learned something but feel dumber than before”**, but we can absolutely build one.
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### Possible word:
**"Erkenntnisverblödung"**
*(Erkenntnis = realization, insight; Verblödung = becoming more stupid)*
> Literally: *"Insight-stupefaction"*
This captures the feeling of gaining knowledge, but paradoxically feeling more stupid because of it.
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### Or this variation:
**"Erleuchtdummheit"**
*(Erleuchtung = enlightenment; Dummheit = stupidity)*
> Literally: *"Enlightenstupidity"*
This is more poetic — like a cruel kind of enlightenment that shows you how little you knew.
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### Even more nuanced?
If you want a more highbrow compound:
**"Selbstentblößungsbildungsscham"**
*(Selbstentblößung = self-exposure; Bildung = education; Scham = shame)*
> Literally: *"Self-exposure-education-shame"*
This might capture the emotional arc of:
“I asked a question, got educated, and now feel ashamed at how nakedly ignorant I was.”
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### TL;DR:
If you want a punchy, plausible German neologism for this:
🧠 **Erkenntnisverblödung** — the realization that leaves you dumber than before.
