核心畫面

Hold on to the sentence hiding inside the word: will I, nill I — I am willing, I am not willing, and it makes no difference either way. What that sentence really says is that nobody's preference is being consulted. Point that at a person and you get the older meaning: the crowd, the rule or the flood moves them and their wishes count for nothing. Point it at a job of work instead, and the same absence of choosing shows up as mess: if nobody is deciding what goes where, boxes land in the doorway and names land on the list. One picture, two directions — no choice being made about you, or no choice being made at all.