And my wife and I had just watched, back-to-back the movies "Joy" and "The Martian" where individuals are challenged in scary and daunting ways and, against overwhelming odds, manage to prevail.
"He was the sort of person who had a twinkle in his eye but he would also look at you in a daunting and scrutinising way.
Monsters aside, the whole idea of a world that succumbs to a new species is mysterious, sad and daunting in a way that separates it from the rest in this list.
When he was invited to contribute to The Wire, a daunting task mid-way through the revered TV series, he says he was "ignorant" enough not to feel intimidated.
"It sounded big and daunting in a good way, crazy, but the kind of crazy that I got into this business to embrace," he said.
And once that process is finished, then everyone has to figure out how to actually make the standards work with the existing internet infrastructure - another daunting task already under way.
Finding real activities for elders with memory loss seems daunting, but there are ways we can engage and enrich their daily experiences.
The budding yeast, S. cerevisiae, has helped with this daunting task in two ways.
