I'd say blindsided is a bit of an over-dramatic term to use. The change SEEMS like a lot, but I don't think the average person would take very long to discover new features and adjust to using them. Incremental change, at least in my opinion, would have been boring and too drawn out. Having this new layout to play with and discover was a welcome breath of fresh air, and I doubt it will be long before we start to see incremental additions to the site and features that may become implemented piece by piece, and by that time, we'll have all become used to how these changes work, and everything should run smoothly from there. I would at least assume, anyway.